The main low pressure system moved along a northeast path from the Central Plains through the Central Great Lakes with a lead frontal system moving across the Appalachians. A southeast 45 to 55 knot low level jet crossed the higher terrain generating mountain waves along the foothills.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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 MRX wrote it up.
The main low pressure system moved along a northeast path from the Central Plains through the Central Great Lakes with a lead frontal system moving across the Appalachians. A southeast 45 to 55 knot low level jet crossed the higher terrain generating mountain waves along the foothills.
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 Morristown, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 18, 6:53 AM EST, 7 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
653 AM EST WED NOV 18 2015
.AVIATION...APPROXIMATE 150 MILE WIDE BAND OF SHOWERS CONTAINING
LIGHT TO MODERATE RAINFALL IS APPROACHING AT A SLOW PACE THROUGH
THE WESTERN HALF OF TENNESSEE EARLY THIS MORNING IN ASSOCIATION
WITH A COLD FRONT. IT STILL APPEARS THAT THE WORST FLIGHT WEATHER
WILL BE AT CHA WHERE CEILINGS WILL KEEP FLIGHT CATEGORY IN THE MVFR
RANGE POSSIBLY WELL INTO THE LATE AFTERNOON HOURS AFTER THE FRONTAL
BAND MOVES EAST OF THE TERMINAL. CEILINGS AND VISIBILITY MAY DROP
BRIEFLY TO AN MVFR CATEGORY AT TYS AND TRI AS THE FRONT NEARS THESE
TERMINALS. TIMING FOR THE MAIN PERIOD OF POOR FLIGHT WEATHER WITH
THE FRONT WILL BE 18-21Z AT CHA...20-23Z AT TYS AND 00-03Z AT TRI.
COMPUTER MODEL SOLUTIONS INDICATE THAT LOWER CEILINGS SHOULD
DISSIPATE QUICKLY BEHIND THE SYSTEM SO VFR CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE
FOR THE LAST 6-12 HOURS OF THE FORECAST.
&&
.MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NC...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 1 AM EST THURSDAY FOR CHEROKEE-CLAY.
TN...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 1 AM EST THURSDAY FOR BLOUNT SMOKY
MOUNTAINS-COCKE SMOKY MOUNTAINS-JOHNSON-SEVIER SMOKY
MOUNTAINS-SOUTHEAST CARTER-SOUTHEAST GREENE-SOUTHEAST
MONROE-UNICOI.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 1 AM EST THURSDAY FOR EAST POLK-NW BLOUNT-
NORTH SEVIER-NORTHWEST CARTER-NORTHWEST COCKE-NORTHWEST
GREENE-NORTHWEST MONROE-SULLIVAN-WASHINGTON TN.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM EST /6 PM CST/ THIS EVENING FOR
ANDERSON-BLEDSOE-BRADLEY-CAMPBELL-CLAIBORNE-GRAINGER-
HAMBLEN-HAMILTON-HANCOCK-HAWKINS-JEFFERSON-KNOX-LOUDON-
MARION-MCMINN-MEIGS-MORGAN-RHEA-ROANE-SCOTT TN-SEQUATCHIE-
UNION-WEST POLK.
VA...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 1 AM EST THURSDAY FOR WASHINGTON.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING FOR LEE-RUSSELL-SCOTT-
WISE.
&&HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 319 AM EST WED NOV 18 2015 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-190830- CHEROKEE-CLAY-SCOTT TN-CAMPBELL-CLAIBORNE-HANCOCK-HAWKINS- SULLIVAN-JOHNSON-MORGAN-ANDERSON-UNION-GRAINGER-HAMBLEN- NORTHWEST COCKE-COCKE SMOKY MOUNTAINS-NORTHWEST GREENE- SOUTHEAST GREENE-WASHINGTON TN-UNICOI-NORTHWEST CARTER- SOUTHEAST CARTER-ROANE-LOUDON-KNOX-JEFFERSON-NW BLOUNT- BLOUNT SMOKY MOUNTAINS-NORTH SEVIER-SEVIER SMOKY MOUNTAINS- SEQUATCHIE-BLEDSOE-RHEA-MEIGS-MCMINN-NORTHWEST MONROE- SOUTHEAST MONROE-MARION-HAMILTON-BRADLEY-WEST POLK-EAST POLK-LEE- WISE-SCOTT-RUSSELL-WASHINGTON- 319 AM EST WED NOV 18 2015 /219 AM CST WED NOV 18 2015/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... SOUTHEAST THROUGH SOUTH WINDS WILL REMAIN STRONG TODAY AS A DEEP LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES INTO THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION. WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 60 MPH POSSIBLE IN HIGHER ELEVATIONS. A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE MOUNTAINS. A WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR THE REST OF THE AREA WHERE SUSTAINED WINDS OF 15 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 40 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE. THE STRONG FLOW WILL GRADUALLY WEAKEN THROUGH THE EVENING BEHIND THE FRONT. MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL ASSOCIATED THE SHOWERS AND AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM MAY GENERATE LOCALIZED MINOR FLOODING .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TODAY FOR HIGH WIND DAMAGE REPORTS.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A wind gust to 58 mph was recorded at Camp Creek Elementary School.
A wind gust to 69 mph was recorded at Cove Mountain tower two miles west of Gatlinburg.
A wind gust to 70 mph was recorded at Camp Creek Elementary School.
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, November 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: 604495, 604497, 604499.