Thunderstorm Wind — Grundy, Tennessee

2025-03-15 · near Palmer, Grundy, Tennessee

Event narrative

A NWS survey team determined that the damage near Palmer was caused by straight-line winds with maximum wind speeds of 95 mph. The width of the damage path was determined to be over a mile wide. These very strong downsloping microburst winds blew straight into Palmer, causing many trees to be uprooted and snapped along with some structural damage in the area. All trees fell in generally the same direction with no narrow tornado path found. Damages are a rough estimate.

Wider weather episode

A potent storm system brought multiple rounds of thunderstorms and severe weather to Middle Tennessee on March 15, 2025. The main risk for severe weather was associated with a line of thunderstorms that tracks east across Middle Tennessee during the afternoon and evening hours. This line produced one EF-1 tornado near Christiana. As this line moved towards the Cumberland Plateau, it strengthened and caused wind damage in numerous locations. Some of the worst wind damage was found in Palmer where an estimated swath of 95 mph winds uprooted trees and caused structural damage. Numerous downed trees and structural damage was also found in White, Fentress, and Overton counties. These multiple rounds of rain also caused flooding issues with flash flooding and reports of road closures reported across Middle Tennessee. This heavy rain also caused several rivers to rise into flood stage for days after this event.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.3500, -85.5700)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1233637. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.