Tornadoes · United States · Tennessee · 2011
EF0 tornado, Christiana to Crescent, Tennessee, March 23, 2011
From Christiana to Crescent, this EF0 tornado ran 1.0 miles across Rutherford County on March 23, 2011, touching down at 7:03 PM CDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $25,000 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.
EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
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.
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.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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
- March 23, 2011
- Touchdown
- 7:03 PM CDT (00:03 UTC)
- Lifted
- 7:05 PM CDT (00:05 UTC)
- On the ground
- 2 minutes
- Path length
- 1.0 miles (1.6 km)
- Path width
- 50 yards (46 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $25,000
- County
- Rutherford County
- Touchdown point
- 35.719, -86.435
- Lift-off point
- 35.730, -86.447
- Record number
- 1103231803-01
What the Weather Service recorded
During the afternoon through early evening hours on Wednesday, March 23rd, as a strong low pressure system moved across the Ohio Valley Region, an associated strong cold front approached and moved across Middle Tennessee. This resulted in a severe weather outbreak across much of the mid state. Three confirmed tornadoes, one of which was an EF2, multiple funnel cloud and hail reports, along with a couple of thunderstorm wind damage events, occurred across this area.
Damaged occurred on Walnut Grove Road near U.S. Highway 231. Some trees were uprooted and a small portion of shingles were removed from a few homes. A couple of outbuildings were also damaged. Maximum wind speeds associated with this tornado were estimated to be around 80 mph.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
12 minutes of warning. NWS OHX issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:51 UTC, 12 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 00:15 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 21:10 UTC and running to 00:51 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21:10 UTC | 00:51 UTC | Tornado Watch | OHX |
| 23:40 UTC | 00:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OHX |
| 23:42 UTC | 23:48 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OHX |
| 23:51 UTC | 00:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | OHX |
Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.
The forecast that day
The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:41 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 Nashville, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Mar 23, 7:03 PM CDT, 0 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 23, 7:03 PM CDT, 0 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 703 PM CDT WED MAR 23 2011 .MESOSCALE UPDATE... WILL ISSUE ZONE FORECAST UPDATE WITHIN NEXT COUPLE OF MINUTES TO REMOVE TORNADO WATCH FROM NW PART OF MIDDLE TN. CURRENT RADAR SHOWS A NARROW BAND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM FENTRESS COUNTY IN THE NE...THROUGH WAYNE COUNTY IN THE SW...WITH SOME SCATTERED STORMS IN THE NASHVILLE AREA BEHIND THE LINE. DRIER AIR HAS ADVECTED INTO THE AREA FROM THE W AND NW...WHICH SHOULD PREVENT ANY ADDITIONAL SHOWERS/STORMS FROM FORMING THERE. EXPECT DRIER AIR TO CONTINUE TO SPREAD INTO OTHER PARTS OF THE MID STATE FROM W TO E OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS. THE COLD FRONT IS ABOUT TO MOVE INTO STEWART COUNTY IN THE NW AT THIS TIME. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 632 PM CDT WED MAR 23 2011/ AVIATION...BNA/CSV...THE 00Z TAF'S ARE OUT. LINE OF TS HAS MOVED THROUGH BNA, W/ VCNTY SHOWERS EARLY THIS EVENING, THEN MOVING OUT. EARLY EVENING TSRA STILL EXPECTED AT CSV, FOLLOWED BY IFR CIGS LATER TONIGHT AS WRAP-AROUND MOISTURE MOVES INTO THE MID STATE. LOW CLOUDS EXPECTED AT BNA, TOO, BUT SHOULD STAY VFR. WINDS WILL SHIFT AROUND TO THE NW WITH THE FROPA THIS EVENING, W/ WINDS GRADUALLY DIMINISHING TMRW. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 502 PM CDT WED MAR 23 2011/ AVIATION...BNA/CSV...HAVE AMENDED THE TAF'S TO REFLECT CURRENT MESOSCALE SITUATION. CDFNT IS STILL NW OF THE MID STATE, BUT MAIN LINE OF CONVECTION HAS FORMED AHEAD OF THE SFC BNDRY, WITH TSRA EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE BNA AREA BEFORE 23Z, AND CSV 23-01Z. CELL MOVEMENT IS RAPID, WITH CURRENT STORMS TRACKING EASTWARD AT 50-60 MPH. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 324 PM CDT WED MAR 23 2011/ DISCUSSION... SCATTERED STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS DEVELOPED THIS AFTERNOON MAINLY OVER NORTHEAST QUARTER OF MIDDLE TN WHERE RH AND INSTABILITY ARE BEST. STORMS ARE ABSOLUTELY HAULING EASTWARD IN EXCESS OF 65 MPH AS BAND OF STRONG MID/UPPER LEVEL WINDS SOUTH OF THE MAIN UPPER LOW IMPACT THE REGION. AS EXPECTED...A SECOND AREA OF STORMS HAS BEEN DEVELOPING OVER WEST TN SLIGHTLY AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT WHICH WAS STILL WEST OF THE MS RIVER AT 20Z. THESE STORMS ARE IN AN AREA OF BETTER MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES AND DECENT SHEAR...BUT ALSO SLIGHTLY LESS RH AND HAVE BEEN SLOW TO INTENSIFY/EXPAND. THIS BAND WILL MOVE THRU MIDDLE TN THIS EVENING...WITH THREAT ENDING IN THE NORTHWEST COUNTIES AROUND 22Z AND THE EAST COUNTIES BY 03Z. MUCH COOLER TOMORROW AND REMAINING COOL FRIDAY AS SFC RIDGE SETTLES IN OVER THE AREA. HOWEVER...RAIN CHANCES WILL INCREASE AGAIN FRI AFTERNOON/NIGHT AS A WEAK S/W TRAVELS EASTWARD IN THE ZONAL FLOW ALOFT WHILE SFC RIDGE MOVES EAST AND ALLOWS FOR SOME MOISTURE RETURN. AS A SFC LOW APPROACHES TN ON SATURDAY...AN IMPORTANT ISSUE WILL BE THE LOCATION OF THE RETURNING WARM FRONT. GFS AND ECMWF BOTH HINT AT A VERY SLOW MOVING OR NEARLY STALLED FRONT BEING IN OUR VCNTY THIS WEEKEND. ECMWF SHOWS THE FRONT JUST S OF TN WHILE GFS STALLS ITS WEST TO EAST THRU THE SPINE OF TN. EITHER WAY...PRECIP CHANCES WILL CONTINUE OVER THE WEEKEND WITH POTENTIAL FOR ENHANCED RAINFALL DEPENDING ON THE FRONT. BOTH MODELS SHOW SFC LOW PASSING MIDDLE TN BY THE END OF THE WEEKEND WITH COOLER AIR MOVING IN BEHIND THE DEPARTED LOW. BOTH EXTENDED MODELS HAVE DAMPENED THE PREVIOUSLY SIGNIFICANT TROF THAT WAS EXPECTED TO MOVED THROUGH THE SOUTHERN U.S. MON AND TUE. ALTHOUGH A WEAKER SYSTEM WILL POSE LESS SVR THREAT...IT WILL STILL BE ENOUGH TO WARRANT CHC TYPE POPS THRU MON. TUE/WED APPEAR DRY BUT REMAINING COOL BECAUSE UPPER TROF MOVES AWAY WHILE A STRONGER SFC RIDGE SINKS INTO OUR REGION. ACCEPTED SHORT TERM MODEL GUIDANCE WITH ONLY SMALL CHANGES TO TEMPS AND POPS. THE BIGGEST POP/TEMP UNCERTAINTIES OCCUR THIS WEEKEND DEPENDING ON THE WARM FRONT LOCATION ADDRESSED ABOVE. LV && .OHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && STEIGERWALDT
Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 23, 4:31 PM CDT, 2 hours 32 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN 431 PM CDT WED MAR 23 2011 TNZ005>011-022>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-242145- STEWART-MONTGOMERY-ROBERTSON-SUMNER-MACON-CLAY-PICKETT-BENTON- 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- 431 PM CDT WED MAR 23 2011 ...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM CDT FOR ALL OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...AND EVEN AN ISOLATED TORNADO OR TWO...WILL BE POSSIBLE EARLY TONIGHT. THE MAIN THREATS HOWEVER WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ONE INCH OR LARGER. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE RAPIDLY SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA LATER TONIGHT...WHICH WILL BRING AN END TO THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... EVEN THOUGH ANY SEVERE 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 STEIGERWALDT
In the hours before
Local storm report, Mar 23, 5:59 PM CDT, 1 hour 4 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
559 PM CDT WED MAR 23 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0558 PM HAIL 4 SE NASHVILLE 36.13N 86.73W
03/23/2011 E0.88 INCH DAVIDSON TN TRAINED SPOTTER
OCCURRING AT I-40 AND STEWARTS FERRY PIKE.
&&
TJLocal storm report, Mar 23, 6:38 PM CDT, 25 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
638 PM CDT WED MAR 23 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0620 PM TSTM WND DMG 2 SE WATERTOWN 36.08N 86.11W
03/23/2011 WILSON TN NWS EMPLOYEE
BARN BLOWN DOWN ON OLD ALEXANRIA ROAD. EMA EN ROUTE TO
SURVEY DAMAGE.
&&
TJLocal storm report, Mar 23, 6:42 PM CDT, 21 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
642 PM CDT WED MAR 23 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0641 PM HAIL 3 W JAMESTOWN 36.43N 84.99W
03/23/2011 E1.00 INCH FENTRESS TN AMATEUR RADIO
&&
TJLocal storm report, Mar 23, 6:45 PM CDT, 18 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
645 PM CDT WED MAR 23 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0635 PM HAIL 3 N ALEXANDRIA 36.12N 86.03W
03/23/2011 E1.00 INCH SMITH TN TRAINED SPOTTER
TRAINED SPOTTER RPT QUARTER SIZED HAIL.
&&
TBOUCHERLocal storm report, Mar 23, 6:46 PM CDT, 17 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
646 PM CDT WED MAR 23 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0620 PM TSTM WND DMG 3 E WATERTOWN 36.10N 86.09W
03/23/2011 WILSON TN EMERGENCY MNGR
ROOF BLOWN OFF A HOME ON HALEY ROAD.
&&
TJLocal storm report, Mar 23, 6:56 PM CDT, 7 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
656 PM CDT WED MAR 23 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0646 PM HAIL JAMESTOWN 36.43N 84.94W
03/23/2011 E0.88 INCH FENTRESS TN TRAINED SPOTTER
NICKEL SIZED HAIL REPORTED BY SPOTTER IN JAMESTOWN.
&&
TJThe air that afternoon
The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.
Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), 00:00Z
0.1 hours before the tornado, 47 km from the path. March 24, 2011.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 239 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -52 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 1 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 900 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 79 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 16 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 108 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 97 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.9
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.3 K/km
Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), 12:00Z
11.9 hours after it, 47 km from the path. March 24, 2011.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -96816 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1314 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 92 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -22 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 125 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 2.8 K/km
The radar
The Nashville radar (KOHX), 59 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:03 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.
What was reported nearby
Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22:42 UTC | HAIL 1 | 9 W Lebanon | Wilson, TN | REPORTED NEAR WEST WILSON SCHOOL ON LEBANON ROAD. |
| 22:58 UTC | HAIL 0.88 | 4 Se Nashville | Davidson, TN | OCCURRING AT I-40 AND STEWARTS FERRY PIKE. |
| 23:19 UTC | TORNADO | 2 E Watertown | Wilson, TN | HUNDREDS OF TREES WERE UPROOTED OR SNAPPED ALONG A NEARLY CONTINUOUS 6 MILE PATH. SEVERAL HOMES SUFFERED SIGNIFICANT ROOF DAMAGE...AND A COUPLE BARNS AND OUTBUILDINGS WERE DESTROYED. THE TORNADO CLIPPED THE FAR SOUTHWEST |
| 23:20 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Se Watertown | Wilson, TN | BARN BLOWN DOWN ON OLD ALEXANRIA ROAD. EMA EN ROUTE TO SURVEY DAMAGE. |
| 23:20 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 E Watertown | Wilson, TN | ROOF BLOWN OFF A HOME ON HALEY ROAD. |
| 23:35 UTC | HAIL 1 | 3 N Alexandria | Smith, TN | TRAINED SPOTTER RPT QUARTER SIZED HAIL. |
| 00:03 UTC | TORNADO | 13 Sse Murfreesboro | Rutherford, TN | DAMAGE OCCURRED ON WALNUT GROVE ROAD NEAR HWY 231...SOME TREES WERE UPROOTED AND A SMALL PORTION OF SHINGLES WERE REMOVED FROM A FEW HOMES. A COUPLE OF OUTBUILDINGS WERE ALSO DAMAGED. THE TORNADO HAS BEEN RATED EF-0 WITH |
| 00:04 UTC | TORNADO | 9 S Murfreesboro | Rutherford, TN | A DAMAGE SURVEY CONFIRMED AN EF-0 TORNADO WITH 70 TO 80 MPH WINDS TOUCHED DOWN 2 MILES WEST OF CHRISTIANA. PATH WAS 1 MILE LONG AND 50 YARDS WIDE. DAMAGE OCCURRED ON WALNUT GROVE ROAD NEAR HIGHWAY 231. SOME TREES WERE UP |
| 00:06 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 6 E Murfreesboro | Rutherford, TN | SPOTTER WAS ON HIGHWAY 70S. |
| 00:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 9 S Murfreesboro | Rutherford, TN | TREES DOWN IN CHRISTIANA. |
| 00:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 6 Ssw Lynchburg | Lincoln, TN | TREE REPORTED DOWN ON GATTISTOWN ROAD. SUBSTATION WAS ALSO HIT RESULTING IN 781 RESIDENTS BRIEFLY WITHOUT POWER. |
| 00:47 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | Tullahoma | Coffee, TN | TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED FUNNEL CLOUD IN TULLAHOMA. |
| 00:50 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 8 Se Manchester | Coffee, TN | TREES REPORTED DOWN IN HILLSBORO. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
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 March 23, 2011
5 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 23 | 4:45 PM EDT | EF2 | Westmoreland, PA | 9.0 | 300 | $4.0 million | ||
| March 23 | 4:00 PM PDT | EF0 | Colusa, CA | 1.1 | 10 | $70,000 | ||
| March 23 | 6:19 PM CDT | EF1 | Wilson, TN | 5.7 | 100 | $200,000 | ||
| March 23 | 6:54 PM CDT | EF2 | White, TN | 9.0 | 100 | $350,000 | ||
| March 23 | 9:50 PM EDT | EF3 | Blount, TN | 5.8 | 500 | 2 | $2.5 million |
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.