EF1 tornado, Thick to Kittrell, Tennessee, April 1, 2023

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

April 1, 2023

Touchdown

1:16 AM CDT (06:16 UTC)

Lifted

1:31 AM CDT (06:31 UTC)

On the ground

15 minutes

Path length

12.9 miles (20.8 km)

Path width

150 yards (137 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$2.3 million

Counties

Marshall, Bedford and Rutherford counties

Touchdown point

35.664, -86.753

Lift-off point

35.722, -86.534

Record number

2304010016-01

62 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.

• Pines and Bradford downed.
• Some interior cracks indicate slight lift of roof deck. Truck shifted and glass broken.
• Probable start of path, scattered tree damage along Moss Rd
• Additional damage in back of house indicated in pic from EM.

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

A very strong low pressure system deepened over the central Great Plains beginning on March 31, 2023 and continuing into April 1st. As this storm system approached Middle Tennessee from the west, southerly flow at the surface resulted in plenty of moisture and warm temperatures for the area. This all helped to set up an early spring severe weather episode for the area. This system's accompanying cold front approached the Mississippi River late on March 31st. Thunderstorm activity across western Tennessee quickly turned severe, but this early activity tended to rapidly weaken as it crossed the Tennessee River where instability was not favorable. However, as the cold front approached Middle Tennessee and the low level jet strengthened, these thunderstorms were able to better sustain themselves. Numerous severe thunderstorms impacted Middle Tennessee through the early morning hours of April 1st. These thunderstorms produced large hail and damaging winds, while several thunderstorms also produced tornadoes. In total, four tornadoes were confirmed in National Weather Service Nashville's area. The most impacted area was Readyville along the Rutherford and Cannon county line were a strong EF2 tornado caused significant damage.

An EF1 tornado with estimated peak winds of 110 mph touched down about four miles northwest of Chapel Hill near Moss Road in northern Marshall County. Moving northeast, the tornado blew down several trees and caused minor to moderate damage to homes on Thick Road, Egypt Road, Smiley Road, and Blackwell Road. The tornado intensified as it continued northeast, blowing five train cars off a track along Highway 31A and heavily damaging homes on Beasley Road and Tennessee Central Road. The tornado then continued into Rutherford County. Damages are estimated for Marshall County.

The continues the narrative for a tornado than began in Marshall County. After leaving Marshall County, the tornado continued into Rutherford County where it crossed Chapel Hill Pike and Rigsby Road where roofing damage and uprooted trees were discovered. This tornado then briefly crosses into Bedford County.

This narrative continues a tornado that began in Marshall County before tracking into Rutherford County. This tornado just clipped the extreme northwest edge of Bedford County where an outbuilding was heavily damaged. The tornado then continued back into Rutherford County. Damages are estimated for Bedford County.

This narrative continues and concludes a tornado that began in Marshall County before traveling into Rutherford County and then extreme northwest Bedford County. This tornado then reentered Rutherford County where several trees were blown down on Highway 41A. More trees were knocked down and a few homes were damaged along Bunker Hill Road and Hant Hollow Road before the tornado lifted south of Versailles Road. Damages are estimated for Rutherford County.

A strong EF2 tornado with estimated peak winds of 130 mph touched down six miles south of downtown Murfreesboro near County Farm Road then moved northeast along Elam Road where several trees and fences were blown down and a few homes suffered minor damage. Trees continued to be blown down as the tornado crossed Lyle Creek Road, Bradyville Pike, Floraton Road, and McElory Road. The tornado strengthened to EF1 as it cross Highway 70 west of Woodbury Pike, significantly damaging one home and several nearby outbuildings. Damages are estimated for Rutherford County.

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

14 minutes of warning. NWS OHX issued a tornado warning for this county at 06:02 UTC, 14 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 06:30 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 05:03 UTC and running to 08:13 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 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.

Shelbyville (SYI), 23 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The Nashville radar (KOHX), 62 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 06:17 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 2023 tornado in TennesseeEvery tornado in Tennessee since 1950Warnings in force in Tennessee nowThe forecast where you are

21 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.