EF1 tornado, Columbia Maury Arpt to Columbia Hunter Arpt, Tennessee, March 15, 2026

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, as surveyed

EF1, preliminary

Date

March 15, 2026

Touchdown

10:06 PM CDT (03:06 UTC)

Lifted

10:25 PM CDT (03:25 UTC)

On the ground

19 minutes

Path length

16.5 miles (26.6 km)

Path width

500 yards (457 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Maury County

Touchdown point

35.559, -87.185

Lift-off point

35.697, -86.949

Highest wind the damage implies

90 mph

Surveyed by

NWS OHX

The office's name for it

Mt. Pleasant/Columbia EF1

Survey last edited

March 18, 2026

Record number

None yet. SPC numbers 2026 in the spring of 2027.

The tornado began along Highway 43 in Mount Pleasant. Many trees were uprooted or had broken limbs along the highway and interstate. A few homes and barns had metal roofing blown off.

The tornado continued northeast into Columbia, impacting neighborhoods and Columbia State Community College. Tree damage was noted frequently. Structural damage to homes was also noted, mainly to vinyl siding, shingles, and metal fascia. There was one building on Columbia State Community College that sustained roof damage, as well as fencing on the ball fields.

Next in the damage path was an industrial area along the Duck River. Many trees were uprooted, snapped, or sustained many broken branches. Several buildings lost metal roofing, and one larger metal building system had a portion of the south facing wall caved in.

The tornado then moved back into residential areas, causing occasional trees down or branches broken, shingle damage, and damage to vinyl siding. The tornado ended along Green Mills Road in northern Maury County, just prior to reaching Spring Hill.

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

101 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 90 mph.

• Several trees with tops broken.
• Blown over semi truck trailers
• Multiple trees uprooted and snapped branches, laying NW.
• Widespread swath of branches and tops of pine trees snapped

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

A potent low pressure system and cold front impacted a large part of the eastern United States on March 15 into the early morning hours of March 16, 2026. Ahead of this cold front, southerly non-thunderstorm winds strengthened across Middle Tennessee with 40 to 55 mph wind gusts common throughout much of the afternoon of March 15th. These winds caused several reports of downed trees and powerlines. The cold front along with a line of thunderstorms then approached from the west during the evening of March 15th and moved east through the early morning hours of March 16th. Damaging winds were the primary threat with this line of thunderstorms with many more reports of downed trees, tree branches, powerlines, and other damage received. This system was also responsible for three tornadoes, two of which were EF-1s. Fortunately, no injuries or fatalities occurred.

An EF-1 tornado began along Highway 43 in Mount Pleasant. Many trees were uprooted or had broken limbs along the highway and Interstate. A few homes and barns had metal roofing blown off. The tornado continued northeast into Columbia, impacting neighborhoods and Columbia State Community College. Tree damage was noted frequently. Structural damage to homes was also noted, mainly to vinyl siding, shingles, and metal fascia. There was one building on Columbia State Community College that sustained roof damage as well as fencing on the ball fields. Next in the damage path was an industrial area along the Duck River. Many trees were uprooted, snapped, or sustained many broken branches. Several buildings lost metal roofing, and one larger metal building system had a portion of the south facing wall caved in. The tornado then moved back into residential areas, causing occasional trees down or branches broken, shingle damage, and damage to vinyl siding. The tornado ended along Green Mills Road in northern Maury County, just prior to reaching Spring Hill. Damages are a rough estimate.

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

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.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 01:22 UTC and running to 04:40 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 Enhanced Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 00:43 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.

Columbia (MRC), 13 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Nashville radar (KOHX), 83 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 03:06 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 2026 tornado in TennesseeEvery tornado in Tennessee since 1950Warnings in force in Tennessee nowThe forecast where you are

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

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.

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.