Tornadoes · United States · Tennessee · 2024

EF0 tornado, Taylorsville to Bellwood, Tennessee, May 6, 2024

From Taylorsville to Bellwood, this EF0 tornado ran 0.5 miles across Wilson County on May 6, 2024, touching down at 2:55 PM CDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $25,000 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
May 6, 2024
Touchdown
2:55 PM CDT (19:55 UTC)
Lifted
2:56 PM CDT (19:56 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
0.5 miles (0.8 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$25,000
County
Wilson County
Touchdown point
36.255, -86.183
Lift-off point
36.257, -86.175
Record number
2405061355-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A broken line of thunderstorm tracked eastward across Middle Tennessee on May 6, 2024. With plenty of instability and modest shear, these thunderstorms became strong to severe, especially across eastern Middle Tennessee. Several reports of wind damage and large hail up to two inches in diameter were received. Two tornadoes were also confirmed. One was an EF-0 near Lebanon, and the other was an EF-1 near Smithville.

A brief EF0 tornado touched down along Big Springs Road north of Old Rome Pike around seven miles northeast of Lebanon. Several videos of the tornado were taken from nearby residents and firefighters. The only known damage was to trees. Damages are a rough estimate.

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

The warnings

0 minutes of warning. NWS OHX issued a tornado warning for this county at 19:55 UTC, 0 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 20:11 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
19:45 UTC20:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHX
19:55 UTC20:11 UTCTornado WarningOHX
20:32 UTC21:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHX
21:18 UTC21:48 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHX
21:47 UTC03:00 UTCFlood AdvisoryOHX

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, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 16:02 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), 12:00Z

7.9 hours before the tornado, 40 km from the path. May 6, 2024.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 2024-05-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 63 joules per kilogram, CIN -69, lifted condensation level 678 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 2024-05-06The 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 87 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 27 knots.193958Sfc1 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
63 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-69 J/kg
Surface CAPE
315 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
678 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
87 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
122 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.6
0-3 km lapse rate
5.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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

4.1 hours after it, 40 km from the path. May 7, 2024.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 2024-05-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 610 joules per kilogram, CIN -10, lifted condensation level 1035 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 2024-05-07The 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 125 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 33 knots.193958Sfc1 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
610 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-10 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1363 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1035 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
125 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
205 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
2.8
0-3 km lapse rate
6.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Nashville radar (KOHX), 34 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 19:53 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
18:05 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 S BethpageSumner, TNTspotter photo of a tree down on Rogana Rd at Rock Springs Rd.
18:06 UTCTSTM WND DMGBethpageSumner, TNTspotter photo of a large tree branch and power line down on Mount Vernon Rd at Old Highway 31E.
19:50 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Ese LebanonWilson, TNFacebook report of several trees blown down on South Cumberland Street in Lebanon.
19:52 UTCHAIL 11 Sse LebanonWilson, TN
19:55 UTCHAIL 1LebanonWilson, TN
19:55 UTCTORNADO8 Ene LebanonWilson, TNA brief EF0 tornado touched down along Big Springs Road north of Old Rome Pike around 7 miles northeast of Lebanon. Several videos of the tornado were taken from nearby residents and firefighters. The only known damage w
19:57 UTCHAIL 1.254 E LebanonWilson, TNFrom social media.
20:39 UTCHAIL 0.77 Ese GladevilleWilson, TNSocial media report.
21:14 UTCHAIL 11 Se BaxterPutnam, TNmPing report of quarter sized hail.
21:23 UTCTORNADO2 Wnw SmithvilleDe Kalb, TNAn EF1 tornado touched down east of Highway 70 in northwest Smithville then moved east paralleling Allen Ferry Rd. Numerous trees were broken, snapped and uprooted along the road and several farm buildings lost roofing.
21:24 UTCTORNADO1 Nnw SmithvilleDe Kalb, TNOff-duty employee and emergency manager report tornado. Video from social media also confirms.
21:25 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 W Rural HillDavidson, TNFacebook photo showed two trees snapped on Mount Juliet side of Percy Priest Lake. Location estimated based on radar.
21:54 UTCHAIL 15 E SmithvilleDe Kalb, TN
21:56 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD3 N LebanonWilson, TNTspotter photo of a funnel cloud looking west from Maple Hill Road northwest of Lebanon.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2024 tornado in TennesseeEvery tornado in Tennessee since 1950Warnings in force in Tennessee nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 6, 2024

40 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 612:49 PM MDTUnratedButte, SD3.510
May 61:53 PM CDTEF0Lincoln, NE0.910
May 61:07 PM MDTUnratedButte, SD10.510
May 64:19 PM CDTEF0Webster, NE7.040$20,000
May 64:23 PM CDTEF1DeKalb, TN3.2150$300,000
May 66:04 PM CDTUnratedMajor, OK3.830
May 66:40 PM CDTUnratedCuster, NE0.11
May 66:41 PM CDTEF1Blaine, OK11.1300$40,000
May 67:07 PM CDTEF0Gage, NE1.030
May 67:16 PM CDTEF0Gage, NE0.220
May 67:27 PM CDTEF0Garfield, OK0.250
May 67:34 PM CDTEF0Garfield, OK0.230$5,000
May 67:39 PM CDTEF0Riley, KS1.275
May 67:44 PM CDTEF1Garfield, OK6.3300
May 68:44 PM CDTEF0Kay, OK0.730$50,000
May 68:48 PM CDTEF1Mills, IA5.7250
May 68:54 PM CDTEF1Kay, OK8.075$100,000
May 68:55 PM CDTUnratedChautauqua, KS0.010
May 69:07 PM CDTEF1Pottawattamie, IA1.5200
May 69:12 PM CDTEF4Barnsdall–Bartlesville tornado, OK40.81,700233$25 million
May 69:13 PM CDTEF1Pottawattamie, IA4.0450
May 69:22 PM CDTEF0Coffey, KS0.950
May 69:30 PM CDTEF0Coffey, KS0.950
May 610:56 PM CDTEF0Lincoln, OK2.250$5,000
May 610:59 PM CDTEF0Platte, MO6.050
May 611:00 PM CDTEF0Ottawa, OK to KS24.11,100$350,000
May 611:13 PM CDTEF0Cherokee, KS2.750$64,000
May 611:26 PM CDTEF1Jackson, MO5.850
May 611:29 PM CDTEF1Jasper, MO4.5100$160,000
May 611:38 PM CDTEF1Jasper, MO2.0100$50,000
May 611:39 PM CDTEF1Oklahoma, OK2.275$300,000
May 611:39 PM CDTEF0Jackson, MO4.450
May 611:46 PM CDTEF1Oklahoma, OK1.130$50,000
May 612:06 AM CDTEF1Okmulgee, OK4.0350
May 612:12 AM CDTEF0Dade, MO0.4200$10,000
May 612:21 AM CDTEF0St. Clair, MO1.0100$5,000
May 612:33 AM CDTEF0Greene, MO18.71501$73,000
May 612:38 AM CDTEF1Clarke, IA6.280$250,000
May 612:51 AM CDTEF1Pettis, MO9.775
May 612:53 AM CDTEF0Clarke, IA2.080$100,000

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.