Tornadoes · United States · Tennessee · 2026

EF0 tornado, Bledsoe and Cumberland counties, Tennessee, August 1, 2026

This EF0 tornado ran 1.8 miles across Bledsoe and Cumberland counties on August 1, 2026, touching down at 6:21 PM CDT and reaching 140 yards wide. It killed nobody.

Preliminary. This is NWS MRX and NWS OHX's damage survey, filed in the Damage Assessment Toolkit as Bledsoe/Cumberland EF0 Tornado. The rating, the path and the casualties are the survey's and can change while it is revised. The Storm Prediction Center compiles the official record of 2026 from these surveys and publishes it in the spring of 2027; this page moves to that tornado's permanent address when it does.

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 survey

Rating, as surveyed
EF0, preliminary
Date
August 1, 2026
Touchdown
6:21 PM CDT (23:21 UTC)
Lifted
6:27 PM CDT (23:27 UTC)
On the ground
6 minutes
Path length
1.8 miles (2.8 km)
Path width
140 yards (128 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Counties
Bledsoe and Cumberland counties
Touchdown point
35.767, -85.118
Lift-off point
35.784, -85.094
Highest wind the damage implies
75 mph
Surveyed by
NWS MRX and NWS OHX
The office's name for it
Bledsoe/Cumberland EF0 Tornado
Survey last edited
August 3, 2026
Record number
None yet. SPC numbers 2026 in the spring of 2027.

What the survey found

At approximately 6:21 PM, a tornado touched down near Grapevine Road in Bledsoe County and moved northeast into Cumberland County. The tornado uprooted trees, removed shingles, and damaged multiple outdoor buildings and a barn. It continued to track to the northeast crossing a wooded area before lifting near Jerry Edmonds Road.

Written by NWS MRX and NWS OHX in the NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit. A survey is revised as better evidence arrives.

The damage survey

15 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS MRX and NWS OHX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 76 mph.

  • Unable to access but trees uprooted along hillside
  • Shed pushed back on its cinder blocks
  • Trees snapped and uprooted. Estimated end point

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

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.

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 Slight Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:56 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

11.4 hours before the tornado, 140 km from the path. August 1, 2026.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 2026-08-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 259 joules per kilogram, CIN -29, lifted condensation level 469 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 2026-08-01The 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 219 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 32 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
259 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-29 J/kg
Surface CAPE
266 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
469 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
219 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
291 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
3.6
0-3 km lapse rate
4.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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

0.6 hours after it, 140 km from the path. August 2, 2026.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 2026-08-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 644 joules per kilogram, CIN -6, lifted condensation level 873 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 2026-08-02The 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 10 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 22 knots.19395878Sfc1 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
644 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Surface CAPE
850 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
873 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
10 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
128 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.1
0-3 km lapse rate
5.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Crossville Memorial (CSV), 20 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
21:25 UTC160° 8 kt1008.5
21:30 UTC160° 7 kt1008.5
21:35 UTC170° 5 kt1008.5
21:40 UTC170° 7 kt1008.5
21:45 UTC160° 5 kt1008.5
21:50 UTC180° 5 kt1008.1
21:53 UTC7974170° 6 kt1008.1
21:55 UTC160° 5 kt1008.1
22:00 UTC170° 8 kt1008.1
22:05 UTC160° 7 kt1007.8
22:07 UTC7974 5 kt1007.8
22:10 UTC180° 6 kt1007.8
22:15 UTC170° 8 kt1007.8
22:20 UTC180° 7 kt1007.8
22:25 UTC170° 7 kt1007.8
22:30 UTC170° 5 kt1007.8
22:35 UTC170° 7 kt1007.8
22:40 UTC170° 6 kt1007.8
22:45 UTC7975 5 kt171007.8VCTS
22:45 UTC180° 5 kt1007.8
22:50 UTC190° 4 kt1007.8
22:53 UTC7975 4 kt1007.8VCTS
22:55 UTC190° 5 kt1008.1
22:56 UTC7975 6 kt1008.1BR
23:00 UTC 171007.5RA BR
23:03 UTC7672 6 kt181007.8-TSRA BR
23:05 UTC200° 3 kt1007.8-RA BR
23:10 UTC210° 4 kt1007.8
23:11 UTC7673200° 3 kt1007.8TS
23:15 UTC210° 3 kt1007.8
23:20 UTC210° 5 kt1007.8
23:25 UTC7673 3 kt1007.8VCTS
23:25 UTC190° 3 kt1007.8
23:30 UTC200° 3 kt1007.8
23:35 UTC190° 4 kt1007.8
23:40 UTC190° 6 kt1007.8
23:45 UTC190° 8 kt1007.8
23:50 UTC180° 4 kt1007.8
23:53 UTC7673 5 kt1007.8
23:55 UTC180° 5 kt1007.8
00:00 UTC190° 5 kt1007.8
00:05 UTC190° 3 kt1007.8-RA
00:10 UTC170° 4 kt1007.5-RA
00:15 UTC150° 3 kt1007.8
00:20 UTC160° 3 kt1007.8
00:25 UTC160° 3 kt1007.8
00:30 UTC0° 0 kt1008.1
00:35 UTC150° 3 kt1007.8
00:40 UTC0° 0 kt1007.8
00:45 UTC0° 0 kt1007.8
00:50 UTC0° 0 kt1007.8
00:53 UTC74730° 0 kt1007.5
00:55 UTC130° 3 kt1007.5
01:00 UTC130° 3 kt1007.8
01:02 UTC7372140° 3 kt1007.8
01:05 UTC0° 0 kt1007.8
01:10 UTC0° 0 kt1007.8
01:15 UTC170° 3 kt1007.8

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

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 129 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:20 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
23:21 UTCTORNADO4 Wnw MelvineBledsoe, TNEF0 - The start of the tornado occurred in Bledsoe County near Grapevine Road about one quarter of mile south of the Cumberland County line. Several trees were uprooted. No structures were affected in Bledsoe County. The
23:22 UTCTORNADO13 Ssw CrossvilleCumberland, TNNWS Nashville confirmed an EF0 touched down near Grapevine Rd along the Bledsoe and Cumberland County line. Estimated peak winds were 75 mph and max width was 140 yards. The path length was 1.77 miles, dissipating near J

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2026 tornado in TennesseeEvery tornado in Tennessee since 1950Warnings in force in Tennessee nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of August 1, 2026

7 more have been surveyed in the United States that day, so far.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 11:21 PM CDTEF0Bledsoe, TN0.3100
August 15:20 PM EDTEF0Marion, IN0.2100
August 16:32 PM EDTEF1Dearborn, IN5.290
August 16:32 PM CDTEF0Fentress, TN0.450
August 17:58 PM EDTEF1Preble, OH0.9250
August 18:23 PM EDTEF0Warren, OH1.8100
August 18:35 PM EDTEF0Montgomery, OH4.7150

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. A survey can be revised, so the rating, the path and the casualties can all still change.

Sources

NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit, the record the survey teams file from the damage, and NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Neither is the official database for 2026, which SPC publishes in the spring of 2027.