Tornadoes · United States · Tennessee · 2011

EF0 tornado, Cedar Creek to Flag Branch, Tennessee, April 27, 2011

From Cedar Creek to Flag Branch, this EF0 tornado ran 2.3 miles across Greene County on April 27, 2011, touching down at 10:47 PM EDT and reaching 300 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $15,000 of property damage.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. EF2111 to 135 mph

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. EF3136 to 165 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. EF5over 200 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The record

Rating
EF0
Date
April 27, 2011
Touchdown
10:47 PM EDT (02:47 UTC)
Lifted
10:49 PM EDT (02:49 UTC)
On the ground
2 minutes
Path length
2.3 miles (3.7 km)
Path width
300 yards (274 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$15,000
County
Greene County
Touchdown point
36.011, -82.871
Lift-off point
36.028, -82.835
Record number
1104272047-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Favorable atmospheric conditions resulted in a deadly tornado outbreak across east Tennessee on the 27th. The thunderstorms produced more than 50 tornadoes across the east Tennessee area with 32 deaths and more than 200 injured. The tornadoes produced from light to heavy damage to hundreds of homes and businesses. Hail as large as baseballs was also reported.

Houston Valley Tornado (Camp Creek Storm). A NWS storm survey reported an EF0 tornado touched down in the Houston Valley area. It had a path width of 300 yards and path length of 2 miles. The wind speed at 75 mph downed a few trees. This storm went on a couple minutes later to spin-up the Camp Creek tornado. The steep terrain at the end of this path seemed to disrupt the tornado. Once the circulation aloft cleared the ridgetop, the Camp Creek tornado began to form.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Moderate Risk, with a 0.15 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 00:50 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, 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 tornado touched down at Apr 27, 7:28 PM EDT, 3 hours 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 27, 7:28 PM EDT, 3 hours 19 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
728 PM EDT WED APR 27 2011

.AVIATION...POWERFUL DAMAGING THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT
TAF SITES EARLY IN THE PERIOD. SOME TORNADOES AND WINDS IN EXCESS
OF 60 MPH HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH RECENT STORMS. A COLD FRONT WILL
MOVE EAST THROUGH THE TAF SITES AROUND 28/06Z. THE BULK OF THE DEEP
CONVECTION WILL HAVE MOVED NORTH AND EAST OF THE AREA. WINDS WILL
SHIFT TO THE SW - W AND REMAIN BREEZY THROUGH THE PERIOD. CIGS AND
VSBY WILL BE PREDOMINATELY VFR OUTSIDE OF STORMS.

&&

.MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NC...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 2 AM EDT THURSDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
     CHEROKEE...CLAY.

TN...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 2 AM EDT THURSDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING
     ZONES: BLOUNT SMOKY MOUNTAINS...COCKE SMOKY MOUNTAINS...
     JOHNSON...SEVIER SMOKY MOUNTAINS...SOUTHEAST CARTER...
     SOUTHEAST GREENE...SOUTHEAST MONROE...UNICOI.

     WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 2 AM EDT /1 AM CDT/ THURSDAY FOR THE
     FOLLOWING ZONES: 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 2 AM EDT THURSDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
     LEE...RUSSELL...SCOTT...WASHINGTON...WISE.

&&

SON
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 27, 4:55 AM EDT, 17 hours 52 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
455 AM EDT WED APR 27 2011

NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002-
005-006-008-280900-
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-
455 AM EDT WED APR 27 2011 /355 AM CDT WED APR 27 2011/

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH
CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A STRONG COLD FRONT WITH A STRONG WIND FIELD WILL MOVE ACROSS THE
TENNESSEE RIVER VALLEY TODAY...BRINGING THE POTENTIAL FOR A
SIGNIFICANT OUTBREAK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS BY THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING. THERE WILL BE THE POTENTIAL FOR WIDESPREAD DAMAGING
WINDS...VERY LARGE HAIL...HEAVY RAINFALL...AND TORNADOES. IN
ADDITION...THERE WILL BE THE POTENTIAL FOR STRONG AND LONG-TRACK
TORNADOES.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

GH

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 27, 7:00 PM EDT, 3 hours 47 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
700 PM EDT WED APR 27 2011

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0632 PM     TSTM WND DMG     2 S SOUTH PITTSBURG     34.99N 85.71W
04/27/2011                   MARION             TN   EMERGENCY MNGR

            NUMEROUS TREES DOWN IN THE MIDWAY COMMUNITY.

&&
Local storm report, Apr 27, 7:09 PM EDT, 3 hours 38 minutes before
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Local storm report, Apr 27, 7:36 PM EDT, 3 hours 11 minutes before
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Local storm report, Apr 27, 7:49 PM EDT, 2 hours 58 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
749 PM EDT WED APR 27 2011

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0730 PM     HAIL             6 NE GREENBACK          35.71N 84.10W
04/27/2011  E1.00 INCH       BLOUNT             TN   AMATEUR RADIO

&&

The surface observations

Bristol/Tri-City (TRI), 65 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
00:00 UTC

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 52 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:47 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2011 tornado in TennesseeEvery tornado in Tennessee since 1950Warnings in force in Tennessee nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 27, 2011

209 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 271:12 AM CDTEF1Yazoo, MS9.7250$70,000
April 271:15 AM CDTEF1Leflore, MS27.750$50,000
April 271:24 AM CDTEF1Leflore, MS3.2100$50,000
April 271:36 AM CDTEF0LaSalle Parish, LA8.0100$40,000
April 271:40 AM CDTEF2Holmes, MS12.31,760$100,000
April 271:40 AM CDTEF3Holmes, MS23.01,760$700,000
April 271:51 AM CDTEF2Attala, MS23.0860$553,000
April 271:51 AM CDTEF0Holmes, MS1.750$25,000
April 271:59 AM CDTEF2Holmes, MS8.8880$10,000
April 272:06 AM CDTEF1Grenada, MS1.9150$60,000
April 272:17 AM CDTEF2Montgomery, MS11.71,760$425,000
April 272:20 AM CDTEF1Attala, MS0.550$25,000
April 272:25 AM CDTEF2Choctaw, MS6.81,7502$350,000
April 272:29 AM CDTEF1Winston, MS4.2150$85,000
April 272:29 AM CDTEF3Choctaw, MS58.71,80025$5.4 million
April 272:37 AM CDTEF2Webster, MS13.31,32015$605,000
April 272:47 AM CDTEF1Winston, MS7.3200$60,000
April 273:20 AM CDTEF1Noxubee, MS6.2150$300,000
April 273:43 AM CDTEF2Tishomingo, MS9.31501$500,000
April 274:01 AM CDTEF1Lauderdale, AL to TN9.2200$1,000
April 274:03 AM CDTEF2Kemper, MS to AL35.21,410$3.2 million
April 274:19 AM CDTEF1Lauderdale, AL1.81001
April 274:27 AM CDTEF2Pickens, AL14.41,232$1.8 million
April 274:41 AM CDTEF3Pickens, AL22.5704$741,000
April 275:03 AM CDTEF1Fayette, AL7.31764$1.4 million
April 275:17 AM CDTEF3Tuscaloosa, AL20.3200$9.3 million
April 275:18 AM CDTEF3Walker, AL18.937520$13 million
April 275:38 AM CDTEF2Lincoln, TN25.9400
April 275:40 AM CDTEF1Marshall, TN2.9100$75,000
April 275:47 AM CDTEF0Rutherford, TN2.150$8,000
April 275:48 AM CDTEF2Cullman, AL30.38801
April 275:50 AM CDTEF1Shelby, AL3.4100$3.7 million
April 275:50 AM CDTEF1Lawrence, TN2.71501$11,000
April 275:52 AM CDTEF0Rutherford, TN1.675$50,000
April 275:53 AM CDTEF2Blount, AL3.22003$9.3 million
April 275:54 AM CDTEF2Jefferson, AL7.820020$18 million
April 276:12 AM CDTEF1Blount, AL14.8200$42,000
April 276:13 AM CDTEF2Moore, TN2.075$25,000
April 276:16 AM CDTEF2St. Clair, AL3.82005$865,000
April 276:20 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL11.075
April 276:24 AM CDTEF0Smith, TN3.450$5,000
April 276:24 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL6.4100
April 276:30 AM CDTEF2Marshall, AL20.0880
April 276:30 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL4.650
April 276:30 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL3.4100
April 276:30 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL5.750
April 276:32 AM CDTEF1Green, KY3.1150
April 276:35 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL4.9100
April 276:35 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL0.350$10,000
April 276:43 AM CDTEF0Marshall, AL2.875
April 276:45 AM CDTEF0Coffee, TN1.750$5,000
April 276:45 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL4.8200
April 276:45 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL6.9300
April 276:47 AM CDTEF1Jackson, TN3.3100$10,000
April 276:49 AM CDTEF0Jackson, TN2.050$20,000
April 276:49 AM CDTEF1Marshall, AL1.6100
April 276:50 AM CDTEF1Warren, TN13.2100$100,000
April 276:58 AM CDTEF1DeKalb, AL27.93001
April 277:02 AM CDTEF1Monroe, KY5.9550
April 277:10 AM CDTEF2DeKalb, AL5.8200$30,000

All 210 of them

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.