Strong south to southeasterly gradient winds of 45 to 55 mph out ahead of an approaching line of showers and thunderstorms caused scattered wind damage throughout Middle Tennessee from late in the evening on December 13 into the early morning hours on December 14. Measured peak wind gusts included 44 mph at the Crossville ASOS at 756 PM, 47 mph at the Smyrna ASOS at 1041 PM, 50 mph at a WSMV-TV…
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Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS OHX wrote it up.
Strong south to southeasterly gradient winds of 45 to 55 mph out ahead of an approaching line of showers and thunderstorms caused scattered wind damage throughout Middle Tennessee from late in the evening on December 13 into the early morning hours on December 14. Measured peak wind gusts included 44 mph at the Crossville ASOS at 756 PM, 47 mph at the Smyrna ASOS at 1041 PM, 50 mph at a WSMV-TV Weatherbug Station at Warren County High School in McMinnville at 1200 AM, 48 mph at the Clarksville ASOS at 1209 AM, and 52 mph at the Nashville ASOS at 107 AM.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Nashville, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 13, 8:05 PM CST, 2 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 805 PM CST SUN DEC 13 2015 .DISCUSSION... LEADING EDGE OF THE SHOWER ACTIVITY IS NOW PUSHING INTO FAR WESTERN TN. SUBSIDENCE OUT AHEAD OF THE RAIN AREA IS ALLOWING WIND GUSTS TO CONTINUE IN THE 30-40 MPH RANGE. SO FAR...NO LTG HAS BEEN INDICATED AND SFC-850 MB INSTABILITIES ARE VERY VERY WEAK. STILL THOUGH..WITH THE DEGREE OF SHEAR THAT IS IN PLACE...WILL OPT TO CONTINUE WITH THE SLIGHT CHANCE OF T. FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE FCST...SEE NO REASON TO MAKE ANY CHANGES AT THIS TIME. OTW...AVG QPF ACROSS THE AREA WILL BE AROUND 1/2 INCH TO PERHAPS 3/4 OF AN INCH. && .AVIATION... 00Z TAF DISCUSSION. 994 MB SURFACE LOW AND UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL LIFT NE THROUGHOUT THE TAF PERIOD DRAGGING A COLD FRONT ACROSS MIDDLE TN. RAIN WILL BEGIN AT CKV AROUND 06Z AND NOT UNTIL 10Z AT CSV. PERIODS OF HEAVIER RAIN COULD DROP VIS TO IFR AT TIMES. PRESSURE GRADIENT AHEAD OF THE FRONT IS TIGHT AND WINDS WILL BE STRONG AND GUSTY. EVEN AFTER THE FRONTAL PASSAGE WINDS WILL STAY UP UNTIL AFTER THE TAF PERIOD. NOT MUCH OF A WIND SHIFT WITH THE FRONTAL PASSAGE. WINDS WILL TURN FROM SSE TO SW. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... NASHVILLE 57 62 43 64 46 / 100 20 0 0 0 CLARKSVILLE 53 58 41 62 45 / 100 10 0 0 10 CROSSVILLE 57 61 42 62 45 / 100 80 0 0 0 COLUMBIA 54 62 41 65 44 / 100 20 0 0 0 LAWRENCEBURG 56 62 41 65 44 / 100 20 0 0 0 WAVERLY 52 59 43 63 47 / 100 10 0 0 10 && .OHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM CST MONDAY FOR BEDFORD-CANNON-CHEATHAM- CLAY-COFFEE-CUMBERLAND-DAVIDSON-DE KALB-DICKSON-FENTRESS-GILES- GRUNDY-HICKMAN-HOUSTON-HUMPHREYS-JACKSON-LAWRENCE-LEWIS-MACON- MARSHALL-MAURY-MONTGOMERY-OVERTON-PERRY-PICKETT-PUTNAM-ROBERTSON- RUTHERFORD-SMITH-STEWART-SUMNER-TROUSDALE-VAN BUREN-WARREN-WAYNE- WHITE-WILLIAMSON-WILSON. && SHORT TERM/AVIATION........12 LONG TERM..................21
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 639 AM CST SUN DEC 13 2015 TNZ005>011-023>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-141245- STEWART-MONTGOMERY-ROBERTSON-SUMNER-MACON-CLAY-PICKETT-HOUSTON- HUMPHREYS-DICKSON-CHEATHAM-DAVIDSON-WILSON-TROUSDALE-SMITH- JACKSON-PUTNAM-OVERTON-FENTRESS-PERRY-HICKMAN-LEWIS-WILLIAMSON- MAURY-MARSHALL-RUTHERFORD-CANNON-DE KALB-WHITE-CUMBERLAND-BEDFORD- COFFEE-WARREN-GRUNDY-VAN BUREN-WAYNE-LAWRENCE-GILES- 639 AM CST SUN DEC 13 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. WINDS WILL BEGIN TO PICK UP THIS AFTERNOON AND BECOME VERY GUSTY TONIGHT. A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING UNTIL 6 AM MONDAY MORNING FOR SUSTAINED WINDS OF 20 MPH AND GUSTS TO 35 MPH. A FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TONIGHT. BECAUSE OF THIS...THE POSSIBILITY EXISTS FOR A FEW DAMAGING WIND GUSTS. WHILE THE THREAT IS LOW FOR EVERYONE...THE BEST CHANCE WILL BE ALONG AND WEST OF INTERSTATE 65 BETWEEN 9 PM TONIGHT AND 3 AM MONDAY MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BECOME NECESSARY FOR ALL OF MIDDLE TN. SPOTTER THUNDERSTORM REPORTING CRITERIA... TORNADO FUNNEL CLOUD FLOODING HAIL >= 1/2 INCH WINDS > 50 MPH(MEASURED) STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TREES OR POWER LINES DOWN 27
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A power line was blown down on Murfreesboro Road in Franklin.
A large tree feel onto the back patio of a home in Nashville.
A large tree was blown down on power lines at West Primm Lane and Sulphur Springs Road blocking the roadway.
A large tree was blown down across 27th Avenue at Meharry Blvd. in Nashville damaging several cars.
A large tree branch fell onto several cars at the Rolling Hills Apartments in west Nashville.
A tree fell onto a house at Thompson Lane and I-24 in southeast Nashville.
A tree fell onto a house in Inglewood.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, December 2015
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 607137, 607138, 607139, 607140, 607141, 607142, 607143.