Hail in Smith County, Tennessee

A strong thunderstorm produced nickel size hail in the Defeated area of Smith County.

A potent storm system tracked across the central United States on April 2, 2024. Despite a primed atmosphere that included CAPE values of 1,000 to 1,500 J/kg, 50 to 70 knots of bulk shear, and a large, curved hodograph that indicated abundant helicity, thunderstorms largely failed to take advantage of all of these parameters across Middle Tennessee. Two limiting factors could have been lapse rates of only 6 to 6.5 Celsius per kilometer and the lack of a mid-level dry layer. So fortunately, thunderstorms across Middle Tennessee during the afternoon and evening hours were generally sub-severe. The strongest storm of the day was in Robertson County where downed trees and power lines resulted in power outages.