EF1 tornado, Old Hickory to Hunters Pt, Tennessee, December 11, 2021

1. EF065 to 85 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado

   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.

Rating

EF1

Date

December 11, 2021

Touchdown

3:31 AM CST (09:31 UTC)

Lifted

3:39 AM CST (09:39 UTC)

On the ground

8 minutes

Path length

7.7 miles (12.3 km)

Path width

100 yards (91 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

1

Property damage

$1.3 million

Counties

Davidson and Wilson counties

Touchdown point

36.142, -86.590

Lift-off point

36.232, -86.523

Record number

2112110331-02

236 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 105 mph.

• Start point just to the west of here
• Two poorly constructed apartment buildings lost small sections of roofing
• Renovation materials blown off roof of high rise and antenna bent
• Roofing material in tree from gym to the south

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

One of the worst tornado outbreaks ever recorded in the United States struck the Midwest, Ohio Valley, and Tennessee Valley from the evening hours on December 10 into the morning hours on December 11, 2021. Across Middle Tennessee, a total of 16 tornadoes were determined to have touched down, making this the 5th largest tornado outbreak on record in Middle Tennessee. These tornadoes injured 8 people across Middle Tennessee and caused millions of dollars in property and tree damage in many counties. These tornadoes, combined with the 5 tornadoes that occurred just a few days earlier across Middle Tennessee on December 6, 2021, set a new record for the number of tornadoes during the month of December. In addition, many counties that had tornadoes in December 2021 had never recorded a tornado in the month of December before, including Stewart, Humphreys, Cheatham, Wilson, Trousdale, Overton, Pickett, Coffee, and Grundy Counties.

An EF-1 tornado touched down in Old Hickory on Martingale Drive and moved northeast across Fowler Street, Orchard Drive, Wilmington Street, Richmond Street, 4th Street, and Jones Circle, uprooting several large trees, causing roof damage to multiple homes, and damaging outbuildings. The tornado then moved across Old Hickory Lake and downed power lines and trees from Walton Ferry to Sanders Ferry Road in Hendersonville. The heaviest damage occurred on Private Drive, Cumberland Hills Drive and Lake Valley Road where numerous trees were snapped or uprooted and homes received significant roof damage. The tornado continued east, crossing Old Hickory Lake once again and downing trees and power lines on Carter Lane in north Mt. Juliet. The storm weakened and lifted on Saundersville Ferry Road near Crosswinds Drive. Total path length of this tornado was 6.82 miles.

This EF-1 tornado touched down on the east side of Percy Priest Lake near Cooks Landing Court and Stewarts Ferry Pike in Davidson County, and moved north-northeast generally along New Hope Road. Many trees were uprooted with EF-0 roof and siding damage to several homes in Davidson County. The tornado strengthened to EF-1 and turned more northeastward as it crossed into Wilson County, causing minor to moderate damage to numerous homes in the Cobblestone Landing and Eagle Trace subdivisions. One home on Partridge Drive suffered severe damage with the garage and east side of the house being blown out. Further to the northeast, dozens of trees were uprooted along Old Lebanon Dirt Road and Division Street, and Mount Juliet Elementary School suffered minor roof damage. The most significant damage occurred in the Willoughby Station subdivision as dozens of homes between Melbourne Terrace and Greenhill Road received minor to moderate roof and exterior damage, and one person was injured by flying glass. The tornado weakened as it continued northeast, but continued to blown down trees and cause EF-0 damage to homes in the Vernon Hills subdivision and along Wilson Drive and Tate Lane. The tornado apparently lifted after crossing Lebanon Road west of Mount Juliet Road. Wilson County Emergency Management reported a total of 163 homes were damaged in Wilson County. Total path length of this tornado was 7.67 miles.

This brief tornado touched down near the Stones River at I-40 in Hermitage and moved northeast, causing minor roof and siding damage to numerous homes in the Riverwood and adjacent subdivisions. More homes were damaged on Seville Drive, several trees were uprooted, and multiple buildings at the Cherry Creek and Canyon Ridge apartments suffered roof and exterior damage. The roof of a medical building on Central Pike at Old Hickory Blvd was also damaged before the tornado lifted.

This EF-1 tornado touched down on the east side of Percy Priest Lake near Cooks Landing Court and Stewarts Ferry Pike in Davidson County, and moved north-northeast generally along New Hope Road. Many trees were uprooted with EF-0 roof and siding damage to several homes in Davidson County. The tornado strengthened to EF-1 and turned more northeastward as it crossed into Wilson County, causing minor to moderate damage to numerous homes in the Cobblestone Landing and Eagle Trace subdivisions. One home on Partridge Drive suffered severe damage with the garage and east side of the house being blown out. Further to the northeast, dozens of trees were uprooted along Old Lebanon Dirt Road and Division Street, and a fire station and Mount Juliet Elementary School suffered minor roof damage. The most significant damage occurred in the Willoughby Station subdivision as dozens of homes between Melbourne Terrace and Greenhill Road received minor to moderate roof and exterior damage, and one person was injured by flying glass. The tornado weakened as it continued northeast, but continued to blown down trees and cause EF-0 damage to homes in the Vernon Hills subdivision and along Wilson Drive and Tate Lane. The tornado apparently lifted after crossing Lebanon Road west of Mount Juliet Road. Wilson County Emergency Management reported a total of 163 homes were damaged in Wilson County. Total path length of this tornado was 7.67 miles.

This small EF-0 tornado was determined through a combination of NWS storm surveys, NASA satellite imagery, and radar data, and touched down near Belotes Ferry Road in far northern Wilson County where it blew down a few trees. The tornado crossed the Cumberland River into the Belotes Bend area of Sumner County where it blew down dozens of trees in a narrow swath across inaccessible rural areas south of Harsh Lane and Preacher Robertson Road. The tornado again crossed the Cumberland River back into Wilson County where it continued to blow down trees in the Lytles Bend area west of Canoe Branch Road before lifting. Total path length of this tornado was 3.07 miles.

This small EF-0 tornado was determined through a combination of NWS storm surveys, NASA satellite imagery, and radar data, and touched down near Belotes Ferry Road in far northern Wilson County where it blew down a few trees. The tornado crossed the Cumberland River into the Belotes Bend area of Sumner County where it blew down dozens of trees in a narrow swath across inaccessible rural areas south of Harsh Lane and Preacher Robertson Road. The tornado again crossed the Cumberland River back into Wilson County where it continued to blow down trees in the Lytles Bend area west of Canoe Branch Road before lifting. Total path length of this tornado was 3.07 miles.

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

10 minutes of warning. NWS OHX issued a tornado warning for this county at 09:21 UTC, 10 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 09:47 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 04:45 UTC and running to 11:00 UTC.

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 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 05:48 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 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.

The Nashville radar (KOHX), 7 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 09:30 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.

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

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

The live radar over the trackEvery 2021 tornado in TennesseeEvery tornado in Tennessee since 1950Warnings in force in Tennessee nowThe forecast where you are

37 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.