Hail — Rutherford, Tennessee

2011-10-18 · near Rucker, Rutherford, Tennessee

Event narrative

Hail ranging from quarter up to baseball size fell across a wide area from Barfield northward through central Murfreesboro and across the Murfreesboro Municipal Airport. Some hailstones were measured up to baseball size in Barfield, but most of the hail was quarter to golfball size from Murfreesboro northward to east of Walterhill. Hail also reportedly covered the ground in Murfreesboro. Thousands of cars were damaged by the hail, along with hundreds of homes and businesses, resulting in millions of dollars in damage. Up to two dozen planes at the Murfreesboro Municipal Airport were also battered by the hail resulting in $500,000 damage, including holes punctured in the wings of some planes. This was the worst known October hail storm in the history of Rutherford County.

Wider weather episode

Scattered supercell thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front across the central and eastern portions of Middle Tennessee. Numerous reports of large hail and wind damage were received, with some hail as large as baseballs measured. The hailstorm in Murfreesboro caused millions of dollars in damage, making it one of the worst on record in the state.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.7738, -86.4020)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 350900. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.