Tornadoes · United States · Tennessee · 2019

EF0 tornado, Yell to Luna, Tennessee, December 16, 2019

From Yell to Luna, this EF0 tornado ran 3.5 miles across Marshall County on December 16, 2019, touching down at 5:41 PM CST and reaching 50 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
December 16, 2019
Touchdown
5:41 PM CST (23:41 UTC)
Lifted
5:45 PM CST (23:45 UTC)
On the ground
4 minutes
Path length
3.5 miles (5.6 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$15,000
County
Marshall County
Touchdown point
35.361, -86.823
Lift-off point
35.371, -86.763
Record number
1912161741-01

The damage survey

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

  • Prefab shed was shifted with shingle loss on SE side
  • Small tree uprooted toward the northeast
  • A few shingles blown off the southern end of the house.
  • Tree house flipped over toward the north

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 powerful late fall storm system moved across the eastern U.S. on December 16, 2019, bringing widespread severe thunderstorms and numerous tornadoes to the Gulf Coast states and Tennessee Valley. Across Middle Tennessee, a line of showers and thunderstorms moved across the area during the afternoon hours, bringing wind damage and two EF-0 tornadoes to counties near the Alabama border. Widespread heavy rainfall also caused flash flooding in many areas.

This EF-0 tornado touched down along Hatchet Hollow Road and traveled eastward uprooting trees sporadically. Tree damage was more significant along Yell Road where a 50 yard section of a tree line was uprooted or snapped. The tornado collapsed an outbuilding on Bivins Road and removed a large number of shingles on a house. A nearby metal carport had the metal roofing and siding removed as well before the tornado lifted prior to crossing Monte Murrey Road.

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

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 Dec 16, 1:46 PM CST, 3 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 16, 1:46 PM CST, 3 hours 55 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Nashville TN
146 PM CST Mon Dec 16 2019

.DISCUSSION...

If you were feeling like we needed some rain in Middle TN, today has
brought you everything you were wishing for. Actually, starting last
night, a large, west to east swath of area north of I-40 ended up
with 2-3 inches of rainfall. This acted to prime the pump for this
afternoon and this evening as we're still expecting another 1-3
inches across Middle TN, including the same area that got the rain
last night. For this reason, we issued a Flash Flood Watch this
morning and it'll run through midnight for basically the northern
half of the mid-state. As some of this flood threat will be after
sunset, please keep in mind Turn Around Don't Drown. If you
encounter water across roadways, don't try to drive through it. You
never know if the road is washed out.

The rain isn't the only thing we'll have to deal with this
afternoon/evening. As the cold front approaches from the west,
models continue to indicate instability will increase across our
southwest. Areas south of I-40 and west of I-65 will carry a strong
to severe thunderstorm threat until 8 or 9 pm this evening. Wind
profiles suggest a QLCS-type line of showers and thunderstorms in
this time frame, where the main concern will be damaging straight
line winds, with a low tornado threat. In fact, this line has
already started to come together and it should reach our southwest
counties in the 330-430 pm time frame. It's important to remember
Severe Thunderstorms can be just as damaging as Tornadoes. If you
go under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning, treat it the same way you
would treat a Tornado Warning and take shelter!

Storms should move east of I-65 in the 8-10 pm time frame and with
the sun having set several hours before this, instabilities should
fall off enough to significantly reduce the severe weather threat.
That said, thunderstorms will still be possible from 9 to around
midnight on the Cumberland Plateau.

Even with storms off the Plateau, lingering light rain is still
possible. I know there's been talk of the white stuff on the
backside of this front, but I really don't think the cold air is
going to get here in time so I'm going to keep it out of the
forecast.

After early tomorrow morning, it's going to be quiet. We will fall
into the 20s Wednesday and Thursday morning, but it'll be dry.
Models continue to show some light rain Friday night, but there are
still significant model differences so will maintain a slight chance
PoP into Saturday morning.

&&

.AVIATION...
18Z TAF DISCUSSION.

Low cigs at all terminals throughout the taf period. Showers and
storms will push east this afternoon in a few waves. Expect
periodic IFR conditions as rain and storms impact terminals
throughout the afternoon and early evening. CSV will see most of
its precip and a few storms from 02z to 10z. Some storms will
contain gusty winds. After precip exits, cigs are expected to
remain low through Tuesday morning.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Nashville      38  42  26  42  24 / 100  10   0   0   0
Clarksville    35  39  24  39  23 / 100  10   0   0   0
Crossville     42  42  22  37  21 / 100  20   0   0   0
Columbia       38  43  24  44  23 / 100  10   0   0   0
Lawrenceburg   40  43  25  44  24 / 100  10   0   0   0
Waverly        35  40  24  40  25 / 100  10   0   0   0

&&

.OHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Flash Flood Watch until midnight CST tonight for Cannon-Cheatham-
Clay-Davidson-De Kalb-Dickson-Fentress-Hickman-Houston-Humphreys-
Jackson-Macon-Montgomery-Overton-Perry-Pickett-Putnam-Robertson-
Rutherford-Smith-Stewart-Sumner-Trousdale-Williamson-Wilson.

&&

DISCUSSION......Unger
AVIATION........11
Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 16, 1:34 PM CST, 4 hours 7 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Nashville TN
134 PM CST Mon Dec 16 2019

TNZ005>011-023>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-171945-
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-
134 PM CST Mon Dec 16 2019

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of Middle
Tennessee.

.DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight.

Widespread rain and thunderstorms will affect Middle Tennessee
this afternoon and into the evening ahead of a strong cold front.
Some of these storms may be strong to severe, mainly south of
I-40 and west of I-65. Damaging wind gusts are the primary
threat. There is also the potential for flooding, especially in
areas that experience multiple heavy showers and storms. A Flash
Flood Watch has been issue for portions of Middle TN.

Thunderstorms should exit the Plateau prior to midnight.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday.

No hazardous weather is expected at this time.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation may be necessary this evening.

27

In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 16, 4:01 PM CST, 1 hour 40 minutes before
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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), 12:00Z

11.7 hours before the tornado, 87 km from the path. December 16, 2019.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 2019-12-16Temperature 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 -26309, lifted condensation level 495 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°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 2019-12-16The 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 201 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 84 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-26309 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
495 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
84 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
201 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
266 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1
0-3 km lapse rate
3.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Lewisburg-Ellington (LUG), 16 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 Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 81 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:43 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 2019 tornado in TennesseeEvery tornado in Tennessee since 1950Warnings in force in Tennessee nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of December 16, 2019

37 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
December 1610:10 AM CSTEF1Bossier Parish, LA26.2250$520,000
December 1610:29 AM CSTEF2Rapides Parish, LA3.6147$200,000
December 1611:08 AM CSTEF1Claiborne, LA to MS11.7600$84,000
December 1611:10 AM CSTEF3Beauregard Parish, LA62.65501$25 million
December 1611:48 AM CSTEF1Warren, MS22.3616$502,000
December 162:34 PM CSTEF2Franklin, MS4.2720$125,000
December 162:34 PM CSTEF3Amite, MS30.38803$500,000
December 163:18 PM CSTEF0Amite, MS5.050
December 163:39 PM CSTEF1Amite, MS1.675
December 163:41 PM CSTEF1Union, MS9.33001$250,000
December 163:42 PM CSTEF1Tangipahoa Parish, LA4.975
December 163:45 PM CSTEF0Calhoun, MS2.660$10,000
December 163:53 PM CSTEF2Lee, MS9.4250$750,000
December 163:55 PM CSTEF0Lee, MS2.280$10,000
December 164:04 PM CSTEF0Lincoln, MS0.450$40,000
December 164:14 PM CSTEF0Prentiss, MS0.375$50,000
December 164:27 PM CSTEF1Tishomingo, MS3.5150$350,000
December 164:41 PM CSTEF2Marion, MS7.4350$300,000
December 164:44 PM CSTEF2Lawrence, MS10.76001$585,000
December 164:50 PM CSTEF1Colbert, AL0.775
December 164:52 PM CSTEF2Colbert, AL8.2250
December 164:55 PM CSTEF0Lawrence, TN3.825$15,000
December 164:56 PM CSTEF1Marion, MS6.2440$50,000
December 165:08 PM CSTEF2Lawrence, AL18.53702
December 165:17 PM CSTEF3Lamar, MS5.8560$510,000
December 165:19 PM CSTEF3Simpson, MS18.61,320$705,000
December 165:20 PM CSTEF1Lauderdale, AL2.9500
December 165:30 PM CSTEF1Limestone, AL9.550
December 165:50 PM CSTEF0Lincoln, TN3.250
December 165:54 PM CSTEF1Madison, AL1.325
December 165:59 PM CSTEF3Jones, MS to AL61.23502$1.2 million
December 166:05 PM CSTEF0Madison, AL3.237
December 168:07 PM CSTEF2Marengo, AL6.03503
December 169:03 PM CSTEF0Hale, AL5.3300
December 169:49 PM CSTEF0Bibb, AL3.1200
December 1610:00 PM CSTEF1Bibb, AL2.6300
December 1610:07 PM CSTEF0Shelby, AL2.3200

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.