Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms affected the far southwest corner of Middle Tennessee to the south of a warm front during the evening hours on March 31. Several reports of large hail were received in Lawrence and Wayne Counties, with the hail covering the ground several inches deep in some areas.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms affected the far southwest corner of Middle Tennessee to the south of a warm front during the evening hours on March 31. Several reports of large hail were received in Lawrence and Wayne Counties, with the hail covering the ground several inches deep in some areas.
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 Mar 31, 5:16 PM CST, 9 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 616 PM CDT TUE MAR 31 2015 .UPDATE... 00Z AVIATION UPDATE. && .AVIATION... VFR. STORMS HAVE HELD OFF TO THE SOUTH...AND LOOK TO REMAIN SOUTH OF ALL TERMINALS THIS EVENING. WINDS SHOULD CALM DOWN BELOW 5 KNOTS WITHIN THE NEXT FEW HOURS FOR ALL TERMINALS...AND REMAIN LIGHT AND VARIABLE OVERNIGHT. MID MORNING TOMORROW EXPECT EASTERLY TO SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS AROUND 5 TO 10 KNOTS...WITH CONTINUED VFR CONDITIONS. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 433 PM CDT TUE MAR 31 2015/ MESOSCALE UPDATE... CURRENTLY STORMS JUST SOUTH OF ALABAMA BORDER WORKING IN AN EAST-SOUTHEAST DIRECTION. SURFACE FRONT BASED ON DEWPOINT FIELD DOWN ACROSS SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE JUST BARELY NORTH OF THE ALABAMA BORDER WITH 60 DEGREE DEWPOINT IN HUNTSVILLE AND 43 AT NASHVILLE. CURRENTLY CONVECTION ACROSS NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI AND NORTHERN ALABAMA TO LIKELY REMAIN SOUTH OF MY CWA...HOWEVER COULD SEE AN ISOLATED STORM DEVELOPING IN FAR SOUTHWEST MIDDLE TENNESSEE NEXT 1 TO 2 HOURS. CONVECTION OVER FAR SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...BOOTHEEL AREA HAS FIRED ALONG FRONTAL BOUNDARY THAT EXTENDS OUT OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE UP INTO THE BOOTHEEL AREA...THEN BACK INTO SOUTHWEST MISSOURI. DEWPOINTS ARE IN THE LOW TO MIDDLE 50S IN THE BOOTHEEL. STORMS CONTINUE TO CLUSTER WITH NEW DEVELOPMENT TAKING PLACE LAST HOUR. H-TRIPLE-R TAKES THIS ACTIVITY DOWN INTO WESTERN TENNESSEE AND DIMINISHES IT OVER THE NEXT 2 TO 3 HOURS. THIS SEEMS REASONABLE AS I WOULD EXPECT ACTIVITY TO RIDE ALONG FRONTAL SURFACE. && .OHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 06
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 500 AM CDT TUE MAR 31 2015 TNZ005>011-023>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-011000- 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- 500 AM CDT TUE MAR 31 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. A FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MAY BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON FOR LOCATIONS SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40 AND WEST OF INTERSTATE 65 APPROACHING THE TENNESSEE...ALABAMA BORDER. THE MAIN CONCERN WITH STRONG THUNDERSTORMS THAT DO DEVELOP WILL BE STRONG GUSTY WINDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. STRONG STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE AGAIN THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS FOR ALL OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE. THE MAIN CONCERN WITH STRONG THUNDERSTORMS THAT DO DEVELOP WILL BE STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND HAIL. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... EVEN THOUGH ANY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BE BRIEF AND ISOLATED, SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO CLOSELY MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO CALL IN ANYTHING REACHING REPORTING CRITERIA. SPOTTER THUNDERSTORM REPORTING CRITERIA... TORNADO FUNNEL CLOUD FLOODING HAIL >= 1/2 INCH WINDS > 50 MPH (MEASURED) STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TREES OR POWER LINES DOWN 31
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
517 PM CDT TUE MAR 31 2015
TNZ093>095-312300-
GILES-LAWRENCE-WAYNE-
517 PM CDT TUE MAR 31 2015
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR GILES...LAWRENCE AND WAYNE
COUNTIES...
AT 510 PM CDT...ISOLATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING RIGHT
ALONG THE ALABAMA BORDER. STORM MOVEMENT WAS EASTSOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.
HALF INCH SIZE HAIL...AND WINDS 30 TO 40 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED.
NO PLACE OUTDOORS IS SAFE WHEN THERE IS LIGHTNING. MOVE INDOORS OR
INTO A VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY! IF YOU CAN HEAR THUNDER...YOU ARE CLOSE
ENOUGH TO BE STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.
LAT...LON 3500 8798 3529 8799 3530 8802 3539 8803
3541 8798 3543 8801 3544 8763 3540 8757
3542 8745 3544 8745 3544 8706 3541 8701
3541 8693 3532 8691 3530 8686 3532 8685
3499 8685
BOYDThe Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 130 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:26 UTC.
4 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Ham radio operators reported quarter to golf ball size hail in St. Joseph, with hail completely covering Highway 43 in town.
Twitter picture showed hail up to half dollar size covering the roadway south of Collinwood. Time and location was estimated from radar.
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, March 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: 565647, 565648, 565649, 565650.