Tornadoes · United States · Tennessee · 2017
EF0 tornado, Morene to Holmes Gap, Tennessee, March 1, 2017
From Morene to Holmes Gap, this EF0 tornado ran 3.3 miles across Wilson County on March 1, 2017, touching down at 7:37 AM CST and reaching 100 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.
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 1, 2017
- Touchdown
- 7:37 AM CST (13:37 UTC)
- Lifted
- 7:41 AM CST (13:41 UTC)
- On the ground
- 4 minutes
- Path length
- 3.3 miles (5.3 km)
- Path width
- 100 yards (91 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $15,000
- County
- Wilson County
- Touchdown point
- 36.097, -86.250
- Lift-off point
- 36.095, -86.191
- Record number
- 1703010737-01
The damage survey
33 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS OHX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 110 mph.
- Trees snapped and laying in the same general direction except for a few trees.
- Carport destroyed and roof missing shingles
- All trees in same direction.
- Debris all in the same direction. ENE
Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.
What the Weather Service recorded
The most damaging severe weather outbreak in Middle Tennessee since the December 23, 2015 Tornado Outbreak struck during the morning hours on March 1, 2017. A line of strong to severe thunderstorms with embedded circulations, known as a Quasi-Linear Convective System (or QLCS), moved rapidly across Middle Tennessee at 60-70 mph from west to east between 6 AM and 10 AM CST. Additional severe thunderstorms developed later in the morning and affected areas of southern Middle Tennessee from the late morning into the early afternoon hours. Widespread damaging winds were reported in nearly every county along and north of I-40 across Middle Tennessee, with winds estimated up to 90 mph in some areas. These intense downburst winds caused 3 injuries - two in Clarksville when a tree fell on a mobile home, and one in Lavergne when a tractor trailer flipped over. In addition to the damaging winds, 7 confirmed tornadoes also touched down from the Nashville metro area eastward to the Upper Cumberland, damaging hundreds of homes and businesses. Several reports of large hail were also received in parts of southern Middle Tennessee.
Using Google Earth high resolution satellite imagery along with OHX and TBNA radar data, an EF-0 tornado was determined to have touched down 6.6 miles west of Watertown north of Burnt House Road. This tornado then moved due east across Cainsville Road and rural areas north of Beech Log Road before dissipating into a severe downburst south of Taylor Road, around 3.3 miles west of Watertown. Dozens of trees were snapped and uprooted in all directions in a clearly convergent pattern along the path. One outbuilding was destroyed near a home on Cainsville Road with debris blown towards the north. With most of the path over inaccessible rural areas of Wilson County with no roads, this tornado could only have been determined using the high resolution satellite imagery.
An NWS Storm Survey along with Google Earth high resolution satellite data and radar data determined a high end EF-1 tornado touched down in Wilson County just north of Highway 70 (Sparta Pike) in far western Watertown, then curved northeast and east across the northern fringes of the town. One home suffered considerable roof damage at 7077 Sparta Pike and a carport was destroyed at a neighboring home. Another mobile home had most of its metal roof blown off on Linwood Road and several trees were blown down on both sides of the roadway. The tornado intensified as it crossed New Town Road where 2 homes suffered roof damage and dozens of trees were snapped or uprooted in all directions. Another home had roof damage on Parkenson Road where many more trees were snapped and uprooted. The most severe damage occurred along South Commerce Road, where one home suffered considerable roof and siding damage, and the attached garage was knocked off the slab foundation and collapsed. However, the garage was not properly attached to the foundation. An adjacent barn was completely destroyed with debris blown over 200 yards to the southeast. Another barn further south on South Commerce Road was heavily damaged, and the wastewater plant across the road received minor damage. East of South Commerce Road, two wooden TVA high transmission power poles were snapped. A home sustained minor roof damage and a greenhouse was destroyed on the west side of Holmes Gap Road, while another home suffered heavy roof damage and an outbuilding was destroyed on the east side of the roadway. The tornado then weakened as it continued eastward, but still continued to blow down dozens of trees. An outbuilding suffered minor damage south of Hudson Road, and a large outbuilding was destroyed farther east at 850 Haley Road. Numerous more trees continued to be blown down across rural forests and fields to the east before the tornado crossed into Smith County.||In Smith County, the tornado caused EF-0 damage as it crossed Holmes Gap Road around 2 miles southwest of Brush Creek. Two old barns sustained damage on the west side of the roadway, while another barn on the east side was destroyed. Numerous tree were also blown down in the area. The tornado continued to blow down trees in forests to the north of Switchboard Road before dissipating into a large downburst that affected areas south of Brush Creek.
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 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 12:51 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 1, 6:14 AM CST, 1 hour 23 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 1, 6:14 AM CST, 1 hour 23 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Nashville TN 614 AM CST Wed Mar 1 2017 .UPDATE... FOR MORNING DISCUSSION. && .DISCUSSION... Updated the suite of forecast products to mention tornado watch 53 thru 01/16Z for entire mid state. Tweaked hrly temp, dewpoint, and wind speed/direction grids. Simply, prefrontal squall line developed and raced out ahead of sfc cold front, i.e. the 00Z EURO solution strikes back, and is actually verifying the best now. && .AVIATION... 12Z TAF DISCUSSION. A band of strong to severe thunderstorms will move eastward near 60kt across Mid Tn this morning. Wind gusts in excess of 40kt are expected with the storms at all sites, with locally severe gusts over 60kt, and hail is likely. Isolated tornadoes are possible. Main time for storms at CKV will be 12Z-14Z, for BNA 13Z-15Z, and for CSV 15Z-18Z. Mainly MVFR conditions will be observed, but brief IFR with the TSRA. Improvement to VFR will occur at all sites by evening as winds become northwest with a frontal passage. && .OHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && DISCUSSION......31 AVIATION........13
Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 1, 5:28 AM CST, 2 hours 9 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED National Weather Service Nashville TN 528 AM CST Wed Mar 1 2017 TNZ005>011-023>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-021100- 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- 528 AM CST Wed Mar 1 2017 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of Middle Tennessee. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight A line of showers and thunderstorms, of which some of the thunderstorms within and possible just ahead of this line could reach strong to severe thresholds, will move across Middle Tennessee this morning. With any strong to severe thunderstorms that do occur, damaging winds will be the main concern, although large hail, the formation of a few tornadoes, and brief heavy rainfall from the stronger showers and thunderstorms resulting in localized minor flooding could also occur. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is requested through the morning hours today. 31
In the hours before
Local storm report, Mar 1, 6:51 AM CST, 46 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
651 AM CST WED MAR 01 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0612 AM TSTM WND DMG 6 NNE DOVER 36.56N 87.79W
03/01/2017 STEWART TN 911 CALL CENTER
911 REPORTED A FEW FREES DOWN ON JOINER HOLLOW ROAD.
&&
EVENT NUMBER OHX1700088
FBORDENLocal storm report, Mar 1, 7:09 AM CST, 28 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
709 AM CST WED MAR 01 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0705 AM HAIL FRANKLIN 35.93N 86.84W
03/01/2017 E1.00 INCH WILLIAMSON TN TRAINED SPOTTER
ONE INCH HAIL REPORT IN FRANKLIN.
&&
EVENT NUMBER OHX1700089
FBORDENLocal storm report, Mar 1, 7:17 AM CST, 20 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
717 AM CST WED MAR 01 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0636 AM HAIL 9 SSW BURNS 35.92N 87.35W
03/01/2017 E1.00 INCH HICKMAN TN PUBLIC
PICTURE OF 1 INCH FROM PUBLIC VIA SOCIAL MEDIA.
&&
EVENT NUMBER OHX1700090
FBORDENLocal storm report, Mar 1, 7:23 AM CST, 14 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
723 AM CST WED MAR 01 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0648 AM TSTM WND DMG 5 SSW FAIRVIEW 35.90N 87.14W
03/01/2017 WILLIAMSON TN PUBLIC
WEB SPOTTER REPORT OF FENCE BLOWN APART AND TREES DOWN.
&&
EVENT NUMBER OHX1700091
FBORDENLocal storm report, Mar 1, 7:30 AM CST, 7 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
730 AM CST WED MAR 01 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0712 AM TSTM WND DMG 5 NNW NOLENSVILLE 36.01N 86.67W
03/01/2017 DAVIDSON TN EMERGENCY MNGR
EMA REPORTS TREES AND POWER POLES DOWNI IN SOUTHEAST
DAVIDSON COUNTY ON PETTUS ROAD.
&&
EVENT NUMBER OHX1700092
FBORDENLocal storm report, Mar 1, 7:36 AM CST, 1 minute before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
736 AM CST WED MAR 01 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0705 AM TSTM WND DMG 1 NNW BELLE MEADE 36.12N 86.86W
03/01/2017 DAVIDSON TN EMERGENCY MNGR
EMERGENCY MANAGER REPORTED TREES AND POWER LINES
DOWN... ALONG WITH A CAR POSSIBLE BEING FLIPPED. TIME
ESTIMATED BY RADAR.
&&
EVENT NUMBER OHX1700093
FBORDENThe 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), 12:00Z
1.6 hours before the tornado, 34 km from the path. March 1, 2017.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 694 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -14 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 1154 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 842 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 82 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 45 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 361 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 344 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.6
- Supercell composite
- 9.1
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.8 K/km
Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), 00:00Z
10.4 hours after it, 34 km from the path. March 2, 2017.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -100552 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 34 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1718 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 99 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 18 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -130 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 96 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.4 K/km
The surface observations
Lebanon (M54), 14 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 UTC |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Nashville radar (KOHX), 35 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 13:34 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 2017 tornado in TennesseeEvery tornado in Tennessee since 1950Warnings in force in Tennessee nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of March 1, 2017
38 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 1 | 12:30 AM CST | EF0 | Dallas, MO | 1.0 | 100 | $25,000 | ||
| March 1 | 12:35 AM CST | EF1 | Butler, KY | 0.8 | 90 | $50,000 | ||
| March 1 | 1:29 AM CST | EF1 | Johnson, AR | 0.1 | 200 | $20,000 | ||
| March 1 | 2:31 AM EST | EF0 | Highland, OH | 6.9 | 250 | $30,000 | ||
| March 1 | 2:40 AM EST | EF0 | Highland, OH | 4.5 | 100 | $10,000 | ||
| March 1 | 2:16 AM CST | EF1 | Conway, AR | 1.0 | 250 | $30,000 | ||
| March 1 | 2:18 AM CST | EF0 | Conway, AR | 1.1 | 50 | $40,000 | ||
| March 1 | 2:33 AM CST | EF1 | Cleburne, AR | 3.9 | 250 | $20,000 | ||
| March 1 | 3:38 AM EST | EF1 | Clermont, OH | 6.4 | 150 | $400,000 | ||
| March 1 | 3:13 AM CST | EF1 | Jackson, AR | 4.2 | 200 | $30,000 | ||
| March 1 | 3:20 AM CST | EF1 | Jackson, AR | 1.6 | 125 | $100,000 | ||
| March 1 | 5:00 AM EST | EF2 | Daviess, IN | 0.1 | 30 | $40,000 | ||
| March 1 | 5:05 AM EST | EF2 | Daviess, IN | 1.5 | 30 | $65,000 | ||
| March 1 | 4:08 AM CST | EF0 | Jackson, IL | 4.1 | 25 | $2,000 | ||
| March 1 | 5:10 AM EST | EF1 | Daviess, IN | 0.0 | 30 | $35,000 | ||
| March 1 | 5:30 AM EST | EF1 | Lawrence, IN | 0.2 | 40 | $22,000 | ||
| March 1 | 5:37 AM EST | EF2 | Lawrence, IN | 0.7 | 25 | 1 | $175,000 | |
| March 1 | 4:40 AM CST | EF1 | Mississippi, MO | 15.2 | 200 | $400,000 | ||
| March 1 | 5:41 AM EST | EF1 | Washington, IN | 5.8 | 100 | $150,000 | ||
| March 1 | 5:45 AM EST | EF2 | Jackson, IN | 0.3 | 50 | $45,000 | ||
| March 1 | 4:51 AM CST | EF0 | Dyer, TN | 3.7 | 50 | $50,000 | ||
| March 1 | 6:04 AM EST | EF1 | Clark, IN | 0.3 | 20 | $200,000 | ||
| March 1 | 6:05 AM EST | EF1 | Scott, IN | 2.1 | 125 | 10 | $250,000 | |
| March 1 | 5:25 AM CST | EF2 | Graves, KY | 1.6 | 200 | $170,000 | ||
| March 1 | 6:36 AM EST | EF1 | Henry, KY | 1.1 | 200 | $100,000 | ||
| March 1 | 7:03 AM EST | EF0 | Hamilton, OH | 1.1 | 350 | $250,000 | ||
| March 1 | 7:39 AM EST | EF1 | Highland, OH | 2.2 | 150 | $50,000 | ||
| March 1 | 6:57 AM CST | EF1 | Logan, KY | 1.6 | 75 | $100,000 | ||
| March 1 | 7:00 AM CST | EF1 | Williamson, TN | 10.5 | 250 | $7.3 million | ||
| March 1 | 8:16 AM EST | EF1 | Pike, OH | 0.6 | 125 | $30,000 | ||
| March 1 | 7:17 AM CST | EF0 | Davidson, TN | 3.1 | 100 | $55,000 | ||
| March 1 | 7:24 AM CST | EF1 | Warren, KY | 2.6 | 125 | $250,000 | ||
| March 1 | 7:40 AM CST | EF1 | Wilson, TN | 7.2 | 200 | $110,000 | ||
| March 1 | 7:51 AM CST | EF1 | Smith, TN | 3.9 | 200 | $40,000 | ||
| March 1 | 8:04 AM CST | EF1 | Putnam, TN | 7.6 | 150 | $25,000 | ||
| March 1 | 9:07 AM EST | EF1 | Meigs, OH | 0.1 | 300 | $80,000 | ||
| March 1 | 8:35 AM CST | EF1 | Putnam, TN | 0.1 | 90 | $10,000 | ||
| March 1 | 4:27 PM EST | EF1 | Murray, GA | 2.9 | 150 | $100,000 |
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.