EF2 Tornado — Bradley, Tennessee

2012-03-02 · near Baugh Spg, Bradley, Tennessee

Event narrative

Harrison Tornado - Segment #2. The Harrison Tornado entered western Bradley County near the saddlepoint along a ridgeline named Mahan Gap. It roughly followed Harrison Pike ENE for about 4 miles, until the highway turned off to the south. The tornado continued into the northern parts of the city of Cleveland and then across the remainder of the county into Polk County.

The tornado was near its strongest in the first mile or two into Bradley County where it downed vast swaths of trees along the highway. The maximum estimated winds were 130 MPH, making it a high EF2 at its peak. This area was very rugged with no houses near the county line.

Overall there were 46 houses that were damaged, included 5 destroyed, and 11 with major damage, as well as 41 other homes that were affected. Two businesses and three barns were destroyed. Overall monetary damages totaled $3.2 Million damage to homes, $640K to business, and $300K to Utilities, totaling to almost $4 Million. There were 7 injuries; all treated and released.

The last few miles in Bradley County the tornado weakened to EF1 and then to a minimal EF0 as it crossed the Hiwassee River into Polk County.

Note: this tornado had the following turns: slightly to the left at 35.2002/-84.8521 and sharper to the right (almost due east) at 35.2265/-84.8051, then continued to the county line.

Wider weather episode

A deepening low pressure system moved northeast from the Mid Mississippi Valley through the Great Lakes initially driving a warm front northward through the Southern Appalachian region during the afternoon. The associated cold front swept across the area late Friday night. A one hundred knot upper level jet positioned over a 50 knot low level jet resulted in a strongly sheared environment. The intense shear and moderate instability produced an atmosphere conducive to long-lived, discrete, supercell thunderstorms. A total of 9 tornadoes ranging in intensity from EF-0 to EF-3 produced widespread damage and nearly 50 injuries to East Tennessee residents in the path of the storms.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.1733, -85.0051)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 374045. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.