Tornadoes · United States · Tennessee · 2017

EF0 tornado, Concord, Tennessee, March 9, 2017

This EF0 tornado ran 1.0 miles across Carroll County on March 9, 2017, touching down at 9:54 PM CST and reaching 150 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $30,000 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
March 9, 2017
Touchdown
9:54 PM CST (03:54 UTC)
Lifted
9:56 PM CST (03:56 UTC)
On the ground
2 minutes
Path length
1.0 miles (1.5 km)
Path width
150 yards (137 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$30,000
County
Carroll County
Touchdown point
35.908, -88.392
Lift-off point
35.905, -88.375
Record number
1703092154-01

The damage survey

10 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS MEG, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 81 mph.

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

A very unstable atmosphere provided for multiple rounds of thunderstorms of which several were severe throughout the 9th and early morning of the 10th of March.

Tornadic damage was evident along Anark Road approximately a half mile east of Highway 22. Intermittent damage to trees and stroage buildings was noted along the track. The last damage was observed east of Walker Hill Road and north of Pate Road. Peak winds estimated at 70 mph.

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

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 00:42 UTC and running to 05:22 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
00:42 UTC05:22 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchMEG
03:29 UTC04:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEG
04:06 UTC04:15 UTCTornado WarningMEG

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 Enhanced Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 00:51 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.

The 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

3.9 hours before the tornado, 162 km from the path. March 10, 2017.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 2017-03-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -25354, lifted condensation level 2824 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 2017-03-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 111 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 52 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-25354 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2824 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
111 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
169 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
7.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), 12:00Z

8.1 hours after it, 162 km from the path. March 10, 2017.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 2017-03-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 20 joules per kilogram, CIN -6, lifted condensation level 667 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 2017-03-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 24 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 60 knots.1939587897117Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
20 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Surface CAPE
209 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
667 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
60 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
24 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
112 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1
0-3 km lapse rate
5.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Paducah radar (KPAH), 134 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 03:55 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)ReportWhereCountyRemark
03:17 UTCTSTM WND DMGGreenfieldWeakley, TNHIGH WINDS BLEW OVER A TRACTOR TRAILER TRUCK ON HIGHWAY 45 NEAR THE PARKER HANNIFIN CORP.BUILDING.
03:39 UTCHAIL 1JacksonMadison, TNONE INCH HAIL IN THE UNION UNIVERSITY AREA.
03:40 UTCHAIL 1.5JacksonMadison, TN1 1/2 INCH HAIL ON OLD HUMBOLDT ROAD 1/2 WEST OF HIGHWAY 45.
03:40 UTCHAIL 1.753 N JacksonMadison, TNFELL ON ASHPORT ROAD.
03:45 UTCTSTM WND GST 0MckenzieCarroll, TNWINDS ESTIMATED 60 TO 70 MPH.
03:45 UTCTSTM WND GST 65MckenzieCarroll, TNWINDS ESTIMATED 60 TO 70 MPH.
03:45 UTCHAIL 2.54 Ne JacksonMadison, TN
03:55 UTCTSTM WND DMGBig SandyBenton, TNLARGE TREE DOWN ON 4295 BIG SANDY ROAD. ROAD BLOCKED.
03:55 UTCTSTM WND DMGBig SandyBenton, TNLARGE TREE FELL ON A CAR. NO INJURIES.
03:55 UTCTORNADO2 Nw ClarksburgCarroll, TNEF-0 TORNADO.
03:55 UTCTORNADO2 Nw ClarksburgCarroll, TNF0 TORNADO
04:00 UTCTSTM WND DMGHollow RockCarroll, TNTREES DOWN ACROSS TOWN.
04:10 UTCHAIL 1LexingtonHenderson, TN
04:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG10 Ssw CamdenBenton, TNTREES DOWN ON NATCHEZ PARKWAY.
04:15 UTCHAIL 1.5LexingtonHenderson, TN
04:16 UTCTSTM WND DMGParsonsDecatur, TNTREES DOWN ON 4TH STREET AND ALSO ON BEAR CREEK ROAD IN PARSONS. TIME IS RADAR ESTIMATED.
04:19 UTCTSTM WND DMGPerryvilleDecatur, TNTREES DOWN ON PERRYVILLE ROAD IN PERRYVILLE.
04:21 UTCHAIL 11 Nw HuronHenderson, TNONE INCH HAIL IN LURAY.
04:25 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Nne LindenPerry, TNSEVERAL TREES DOWN THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY. TIME ESTIMATED BASED ON RADAR. NO REPORTS OF STRUCTURAL DAMAGE.
04:29 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Sw LindenPerry, TNSEVERAL TREES DOWN THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY.
04:30 UTCHAIL 1LexingtonHenderson, TNTWO ROUNDS OF HAIL ENDED UP LEAVING 2 TO 3 INCH DEPTH OVER ROADS IN LEXINGTON ESPECIALLY EAST CHURCH STREET AND THE MAIN ROAD OUT OF LEXINGTON.
04:32 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Sw LindenPerry, TNSEVERAL TREES DOWN THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY.
04:43 UTCFLASH FLOODBemisMadison, TNHIGH WATER COVERING ROADWAYS ON D STREET AND ALSO RIVERSIDE DRIVE IN BEMIS. ALSO, FLOODED ROADWAY ON BOONE LANE IN WESTOVER.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

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 9, 2017

16 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 96:25 PM CSTEF2Ripley, MO9.6600$30,000
March 96:32 PM CSTEF1Butler, MO6.3100$25,000
March 96:42 PM CSTEF0Barry, MO0.1100$25,000
March 96:50 PM CSTEF0Taney, MO0.175$20,000
March 97:00 PM CSTEF0Barry, MO0.1100
March 97:03 PM CSTEF1Stoddard, MO2.375$75,000
March 97:06 PM CSTEF0Taney, MO1.9100$100,000
March 97:14 PM CSTEF1Butler, MO2.7200$500,000
March 97:28 PM CSTEF1Stoddard, MO11.2250$400,000
March 98:00 PM CSTEF0Stoddard, MO0.7100$20,000
March 98:10 PM CSTEF1New Madrid, MO1.1150$50,000
March 98:26 PM CSTEF2Fulton, MO to KY9.7250$270,000
March 98:41 PM CSTEF2Fulton, KY to TN10.2250$1.3 million
March 99:13 PM CSTEF1Calloway, KY5.6150$75,000
March 911:32 PM CSTEF0Marshall, TN3.1100$25,000
March 911:55 PM CSTEF1Moore, TN4.2320

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.