Tornadoes · United States · Tennessee · 2019

EF0 tornado, Tuckers Xrds, Tennessee, February 6, 2019

This EF0 tornado ran 1.0 miles across Wilson County on February 6, 2019, touching down at 9:49 PM CST and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $10,000 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
February 6, 2019
Touchdown
9:49 PM CST (03:49 UTC)
Lifted
9:51 PM CST (03:51 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
$10,000
County
Wilson County
Touchdown point
36.199, -86.187
Lift-off point
36.208, -86.175
Record number
1902062149-01

The damage survey

8 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.

  • Shutter blown off home and light fixtures knocked over
  • Fence blown down, debris pierced into ground
  • Debris from barn blown 1/4-1/2 mile away across these fields
  • Debris from destroyed barn

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

Heavy rain and thunderstorms produced 2 tornadoes and widespread flash flooding across Middle Tennessee from the afternoon of February 6 through the early morning hours on February 7. A warm front that had moved northward into Kentucky early in the day on February 6 sank back southward to near the Interstate 40 corridor by the afternoon, sparking numerous showers and thunderstorms along and just north of the front. As the front effectively stalled in a west-to-east line along the Interstate 40 corridor, showers and storms continued to redevelop and move across the same areas. With rainfall rates approaching 1-2 per hour at times, this led to widespread flash flooding across Humphreys, Dickson, Cheatham, Davidson, Wilson, Smith, Jackson, Putnam, and Overton Counties. This flooding resulted in numerous closed roadways, dozens of water rescues, flooded homes and businesses, significant rises on area creeks and rivers, and unfortunately one fatality in Cheatham County. Total rainfall amounts ranged from 3 inches to nearly 7 inches across these counties. In addition to the flooding, thunderstorms produced two EF-0 tornadoes in Rutherford and Wilson Counties. Lightning also struck homes in Overton and Jackson counties, causing significant fire damage.

A small, weak tornado touched down along Trousdale Ferry Pike just west of Tuckers Crossroads and curved northeast before lifting near Big Springs Road. One barn at the beginning of the path was destroyed with debris blown up to one half mile away. One home and some trees across the street received minor damage. A few more trees were blown down in fields west of Big Springs Road before the tornado lifted.

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.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
20:38 UTC20:50 UTCTornado WarningOHX
21:37 UTC01:30 UTCFlood AdvisoryOHX
21:45 UTC01:45 UTCFlood AdvisoryOHX
23:41 UTC03:45 UTCFlood AdvisoryOHX
00:14 UTC02:15 UTCFlash Flood WarningOHX
00:37 UTC02:30 UTCFlash Flood WarningOHX
02:04 UTC05:30 UTCFlash Flood WarningOHX
03:31 UTC15:30 UTCFlood AdvisoryOHX
03:52 UTC15:12 UTCFlood AdvisoryOHX
04:55 UTC07:30 UTCFlash Flood WarningOHX
05:27 UTC14:30 UTCFlash Flood WarningOHX
16:00 UTC01:00 UTCWind AdvisoryOHX
21:00 UTC02:49 UTCFlash Flood WatchOHX

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 Marginal Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 00:58 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

3.8 hours before the tornado, 38 km from the path. February 7, 2019.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 2019-02-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 16 joules per kilogram, CIN -193, lifted condensation level 563 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 00:00Z on 2019-02-07The 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 105 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 49 knots.1939587897Sfc1 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
16 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-193 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
563 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
105 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
244 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3
0-3 km lapse rate
3.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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

8.2 hours after it, 38 km from the path. February 7, 2019.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 2019-02-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 206 joules per kilogram, CIN -62, lifted condensation level 689 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 2019-02-07The 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 352 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 67 knots.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
206 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-62 J/kg
Surface CAPE
213 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
689 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
67 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
352 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
351 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
3.6
0-3 km lapse rate
4.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Nashville radar (KOHX), 35 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 03:47 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.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
00:55 UTCFLASH FLOODMount JulietWilson, TN7294 HICKORY RIDGE ROAD CLOSED DUE TO FLASH FLOODING.
00:58 UTCFLASH FLOODMount JulietWilson, TN2253 BECKWITH ROAD, 4-5 FEET OF WATER RUNNING OVER THE ROAD. ROAD CLOSED DUE TO FLASH FLOODING.
01:02 UTCFLASH FLOODLebanonWilson, TNPARK AVENUE AND HARDING DRIVE CLOSED DUE TO FLASH FLOODING.
01:11 UTCFLASH FLOODLebanonWilson, TN3187 CEDAR GROVE ROAD CLOSED DUE TO FLASH FLOODING.
01:18 UTCFLASH FLOODLebanonWilson, TN3945 OLD ROME PK VEHICLE STALLED DUE TO FLASH FLOODING.
01:35 UTCFLASH FLOODLebanonWilson, TNMARTHA LEEVILLE ROAD AND EASTGATE BLVD VEHICLE STUCK DUE TO FLASH FLOODING.
01:52 UTCLIGHTNING9 W GainesboroJackson, TNREPORT FROM 911 CENTER AND FACEBOOK OF LIGHTNING STRIKING A HOUSE AND STARTING A FIRE IN THE GLADDICE COMMUNITY...GLADDICE HWY AND SMITHS BEND RD.
01:52 UTCLIGHTNING9 W GainesboroJackson, TNREPORT OF LIGHTNING STRIKING A HOUSE IN THE GLADDICE COMMUNITY.
02:08 UTCFLASH FLOODLebanonWilson, TN2100 BLOCK FO BEASLEY BEND ROAD CLOSED DUE TO FLASH FLOODING.
02:17 UTCFLASH FLOODLebanonWilson, TN4200 BLOCK OF LEBANON ROAD, WATER IS APPRAOCHING A HOME.
02:45 UTCFLASH FLOODCookevillePutnam, TNPUTNAM COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT REPORTED NUMEROUS STREETS FLOODED ACROSS COOKEVILLE WITH SEVERAL VEHICLES STRANDED AND WATER RESCUES CONDUCTED. ROADS THAT WERE FLOODED INCLUDED SOUTH WALNUT ST BETWEEN BORDEN ST AND JA
02:49 UTCFLASH FLOODWoodbineDavidson, TNWESTBOUND I-440 BEFORE NOLENSVILLE PIKE EXIT, RIGHT TWO LANES FLOODED.
03:06 UTCFLASH FLOODLebanonWilson, TNJOHNSON ROAD HARTSVILLE PK RAOD CLOSED DUE TO FLASH FLOODING.
03:49 UTCTORNADO1 W Tuckers CrossroadsWilson, TNA BRIEF, WEAK EF-0 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ALONG TROUSDALE FERRY PIKE JUST WEST OF TUCKERS CROSSROADS AND CURVED NORTHEAST BEFORE LIFTING NEAR BIG SPRINGS ROAD. ONE BARN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PATH WAS DESTROYED WITH DEBRI
04:00 UTCFLASH FLOOD2 Nne Green HillsDavidson, TNST. BERNARD ACADEMY FLOODED WITH FOUR INCHES OF WATER. SEVERAL STREETS AROUND HILLSBORO VILLAGE AND NEAR THE VANDERBILT CAMPUS FLOODED.
04:30 UTCHEAVY RAIN 5.75InglewoodDavidson, TNNWS EMPLOYEE REPORTS HEAVY RAIN STILL FALLING.
04:31 UTCHEAVY RAIN 5.94West NashvilleDavidson, TNAS OF 10:30 PM. STILL RAINING.
05:00 UTCFLASH FLOOD9 Ssw Red Boiling SprinSmith, TNTSPOTTER REPORT OF HIGHWAY 70 BETWEEN HIWASSEE ROAD AND THE DOLLAR GENERAL IN THE ROME COMMUNITY BEING FLOODED. ANOTHER REPORT OF FLOODING COVERING PLEASANT SHADE HIGHWAY JUST SOUTH OF THE MACON COUNTY LINE.
05:00 UTCFLASH FLOODGainesboroJackson, TNFACEBOOK VIDEO SHOWED FLOODING IN AND AROUND GAINESBORO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
05:11 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 Nne Berry HillDavidson, TNEM REPORTS MULTIPLE WATER RESCUES ONGOING NEAR BROWNS CREEK.
05:11 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 Nne Berry HillDavidson, TNNASHVILLE OEM AND LOCAL MEDIA REPORTED MAJOR FLASH FLOODING AROUND THE FAIRGROUNDS IN SOUTH NASHVILLE NEAR BROWNS CREEK. SEVERAL VEHICLES WERE STRANDED AT NOLENSVILLE ROAD AND WALSH ROAD WITH WATER RESCUES ONGOING. BUSIN
05:22 UTCFLASH FLOOD2 Ese InglewoodDavidson, TNVIDEO OF FLOOD WATER COMING UP INTO HOUSE THROUGH BATHROOM PLUMBING FIXTURE.
05:25 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 Ne Belle MeadeDavidson, TN4 TO 5 INCHES ON ROAD AT DARTMOUTH AND WOODMONT LN IN GREEN HILLS.
05:48 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 Wsw InglewoodDavidson, TNEAST NASHVILLE NEAR TRINITY LN AND ELLINGTON PKWY. PHOTOS OF BASEMENT PORTION OF HOME FLOODED.
06:09 UTCFLASH FLOODMount JulietWilson, TNA LIST OF ROADS CLOSED DUE TO FLASH FLOODING. WOODRIDGE PLACE NEAR GOLDEN BEAR GATEWAY. W. DIVISION STREET NEAR MT. JULIET ELEMENTARY. OLD LEBANON DIRT ROAD NEAR PAGE DRIVE. CEDAR DRIVE BEHIND VALLEY CENTER. YOR ROAD NEA

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

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 February 6, 2019

2 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
February 62:35 PM CSTEF0Rutherford, TN1.275$25,000
February 68:02 PM CSTEF0Dickson, TN1.450$20,000

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.