A vigorous frontal system ushered Gulf moisture into the area. A band of convection produced severe thunderstorms and locally heavy rainfall as it swept through the area.
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 MRX wrote it up.
A vigorous frontal system ushered Gulf moisture into the area. A band of convection produced severe thunderstorms and locally heavy rainfall as it swept through the area.
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 Feb 2, 11:49 PM CST, 2 hours 36 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
1249 AM EST WED FEB 3 2016
.AVIATION...A STRONG COLD FRONT MOVING INTO THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN
REGION TONIGHT WILL BRING A LINE OF SHOWERS AND EVEN A FEW
THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE TAF SITES TONIGHT. ALSO...ACCOMPANYING
THE FRONT WILL BE STRONG WINDS ALOFT FOR LLWS. AS THE CONVECTION
MOVES THROUGH THE TAF SITES DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...GUSTY
ERRATIC THUNDERSTORMS WINDS...LOWERING CLOUDS AND REDUCED VIS FOR
LOCAL MVFR TO IFR CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED. CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE
ACROSS THE REGION WEDNESDAY WITH THE PRECIP EXITING THE TAF STIES
DURING THE MORNING AND WINDS AND CLOUDS SLOWLY DECREASING IN THE
AFTERNOON.
&&
.MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NC...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM EST THIS MORNING FOR CHEROKEE-CLAY.
TN...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 10 AM EST THIS MORNING FOR BLOUNT SMOKY
MOUNTAINS-COCKE SMOKY MOUNTAINS-JOHNSON-SEVIER SMOKY
MOUNTAINS-SOUTHEAST CARTER-SOUTHEAST GREENE-SOUTHEAST
MONROE-UNICOI.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM EST /9 AM CST/ THIS MORNING FOR
ANDERSON-BLEDSOE-BRADLEY-CAMPBELL-CLAIBORNE-EAST POLK-
GRAINGER-HAMBLEN-HAMILTON-HANCOCK-HAWKINS-JEFFERSON-KNOX-
LOUDON-MARION-MCMINN-MEIGS-MORGAN-NW BLOUNT-NORTH SEVIER-
NORTHWEST CARTER-NORTHWEST COCKE-NORTHWEST GREENE-NORTHWEST
MONROE-RHEA-ROANE-SCOTT TN-SEQUATCHIE-SULLIVAN-UNION-
WASHINGTON TN-WEST POLK.
VA...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM EST THIS MORNING FOR LEE-RUSSELL-SCOTT-
WASHINGTON-WISE.
&&
TDHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 528 PM EST TUE FEB 2 2016 NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002- 005-006-008-032230- 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- 528 PM EST TUE FEB 2 2016 /428 PM CST TUE FEB 2 2016/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT... A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT. VERY STRONG SUSTAINED WINDS OF 35 TO 50 MPH SEEING GUSTS UP TO 60 TO 70 MPH AT TIMES OVERNIGHT ALONG THE EAST TENNESSEE MOUNTAINS AND SURROUNDING FOOTHILLS. STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS OF 15 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 40 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED OVER MOST VALLEY LOCATIONS IN THE AREA. A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE VALLEY...AND A HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE EAST TENNESSEE MOUNTAINS. A LINE OF SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. THE OVERALL SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL BE MARGINAL. HOWEVER...STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT...AND FLASH FLOODING MAY OCCUR IF STORMS REPEATEDLY TRACK OVER THE SAME AREAS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY... VERY STRONG WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH...WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH IN THE MOUNTAINS...AND BREEZY WINDS OF 15 TO 30 MPH IN THE VALLEY WILL SUBSIDE BY LATE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON AS THE STORM SYSTEM PULLS AWAY FROM THE REGION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TONIGHT.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
102 AM EST WED FEB 03 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1130 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG 4 N CANEY BRANCH 36.10N 82.99W
02/02/2016 GREENE TN BROADCAST MEDIA
PORCH BLOWN OFF A MOBILE HOME.
&&
DHPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
105 AM EST WED FEB 03 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1150 PM NON-TSTM WND GST S SEVIERVILLE 35.89N 83.58W
02/02/2016 M78 MPH SEVIER TN MESONET
COVE MOUNTAIN OBSERVED A WIND GUSTS TO 78 MPH.
&&
DHPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
107 AM EST WED FEB 03 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1153 PM NON-TSTM WND GST CAMP CREEK 36.09N 82.77W
02/02/2016 M64 MPH GREENE TN MESONET
CAMP CREEK MET TOWER MEASURED A WIND GUSTS UP TO 64 MPH.
&&
DHSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
200 AM CST WED FEB 3 2016
TNZ081-082-030845-
BLEDSOE TN-SEQUATCHIE TN-
200 AM CST WED FEB 3 2016
SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR BLEDSOE...AND SEQUATCHIE COUNTIES
UNTIL 245 AM CST...
AT 200 AM CST...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 11
MILES NORTHWEST OF DUNLAP...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 65 MPH.
WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
PIKEVILLE...MOUNT CREST...CAGLE...OLD CUMBERLAND AND MELVINE.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
TORRENTIAL RAINFALL IS ALSO OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM...AND MAY LEAD
TO FLASH FLOODING. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE THROUGH FLOODED
ROADWAYS.
&&
LAT...LON 3555 8546 3557 8542 3572 8526 3576 8526
3577 8510 3576 8507 3577 8504 3575 8503
3577 8494 3576 8492 3573 8494 3540 8549
3541 8549 3541 8551 3542 8551 3543 8554
3549 8554 3553 8560
TIME...MOT...LOC 0800Z 229DEG 55KT 3549 8555
DHThe Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 108 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 08:23 UTC.
7 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Several trees were reported down across the Cumberland Plateau.
Several trees were downed in Dunlap with numerous power outages reported.
Several trees were reported down across the county.
Wind speed was estimated at 60 mph at Jasper.
Multiple roads in the city of Dunlap were impassable due to flooding.
A tree was reported down on highway 58.
Multiple roadways were flooded throughout the county.
Several trees were reported down across the southern half of the county.
Several trees were reported down near the Fairview community.
Submerged vehicle was reported on I-75 near mile marker 68.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, February 2016
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: 617473, 617474, 617475, 617479, 614168, 617476, 614169, 617477, 617478, 614171.