On Tuesday between 1:00 am and 12:30 pm, a major tornado caused significant damage in the downtown area of North Nashville. During the early hours of Tuesday, a long-lasting tornado from a supercell storm system tore through various parts of central Tennessee. Additionally, the eastern parts of Putnam County were severely affected.
By Wednesday morning, as stated on weather.Com, there had been a minimum of 24 deaths and over 200 casualties reported. This count encompasses 18 individuals in Putnam County, 3 in Wilson County, 2 in Davidson County (which covers Nashville), and 1 in Benton County. Following the identification of one fatality as unrelated to the storm, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency announced on Tuesday afternoon that the statewide death toll stood at 25, but this figure was subsequently corrected to 24.
The Nashville city officials have reported approximately 40 buildings that have collapsed.
The Tennessean reported that residences and establishments were rendered unrecognizable in a two-mile area located to the west of Cookeville, which was extensively explored by numerous rescuers. Severe devastation was observed in and around Cookeville, which serves as the county seat of Putnam County.
Search and recovery missions were still ongoing on Tuesday afternoon.
The John C. Tune Airport in Nashville was greatly impacted, located approximately four miles west-northwest of the downtown area. The airport primarily serves general aviation, catering to private pilots, and is considered the largest in the state.
“AIN Online reported that a larger number of lone-engine planes were displayed scattered across the airport pavement. Aerial pictures and footage captured at the location indicated that a minimum of four hangars were utterly destroyed, among which one exhibited five jets amidst the wreckage, along with various smaller airplanes.”
See weather.Com for full coverage of these tornadoes and their aftermath, including a powerful compilation of before-and-after photos from the Nashville area.
How it happened
Instead of a stray tornado or two and a “garden-variety” setup, it appeared that a long-track tornadic supercell would form overnight, although it wasn’t initially clear. The NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center had identified Middle Tennessee as being at a slight risk of severe weather on Monday.
Severe storms broke out in southeast Missouri on Monday night, extending into Kentucky, prompting issuance of a tornado watch across that area.
Aiming for central Tennessee by late Monday night, there would be a nose of more-unstable air positioned beneath powerful upper-level winds.
The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) released a tornado warning at 11:20 pm CST on Monday for the central part of Tennessee, which will stay valid until 3 am.
The supercell, which had unimpeded access to the unstable air pushing in from the Gulf, did not have strong storms. It raced eastward, close to a boundary where the warmer, more unstable air cooled and separated from the rain. This long-tracked supercell developed well west of Nashville and spawned deadly tornadoes.
A tornado alert was issued at 12:35 am for the Nashville region.
Sam Shamburger, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service, documented the cyclone while observing towards the northwest from a spot close to the city center. Moreover, several other recordings also captured the whirlwind.
Tornadoes larger than one fraction occur at night in states other than Tennessee (46%), as per one analysis. Tornadoes are most likely to occur across South Middle Tennessee, especially in March when the U.S. Experiences tornadoes. Several climatological boxes were checked off to analyze the overnight tornadoes.
Significant vertical wind shear, coupled with moderate instability, seems to have formed in a typical setting for tornadoes during the late winter and early spring across the Southern region. Last night’s tornadic supercell experienced a particularly powerful vertical wind shear. Research has indicated that when the shear is sufficiently strong, it can lead to the formation of intense supercells and tornadoes, which may generate significant levels of instability, even in smaller amounts.
Another March 3 tornado disaster
Last week, guest author Lee Grenci posted an overview of this event. In the post, he compared and contrasted the deadly tornado that occurred in Lee County, Alabama, one year ago today with the somewhat unremarkable severe weather events of 2020 and 2019. It’s worth noting that the tornado formed as a long-lived supercell and quickly intensified as it moved along a preexisting frontal zone and an unstable pocket of air.