EF1 tornado in Robertson County, Tennessee

An NWS Storm Survey determined a very complex area of wind damage consisting of two EF1 tornadoes and a large intense macroburst struck eastern Robertson County. The first of these EF1 tornadoes touched down 4.6 miles southeast of Springfield west of Pinson School Road and traveled northeast across Possum Trot Road uprooting and snapping several trees. More significant damage to homes and businesses occurred at the intersection of Highway 76 and Gum Station Road and along Lorilei Lane, where a few homes had moderate roof damage and many more homes and barns had minor roof damage. More homes and barns received minor damage south of Gum Station Road, with one home at 6537 Gum Station Road having moderate roof damage to its southern side and a tree falling on the western side. Another home at the southwest corner of the Bethlehem Road and Gum Station Road intersection was severely damaged, with others on the north side of the intersection suffering minor damage. More homes had minor roof damage further to the east along Bethlehem Road and at the Cross Plains Road and Boyles Road intersection before the tornado lifted. Hundreds of trees were snapped and uprooted all along the path. Winds were estimated up to 105 mph.

A powerful upper level trough moved across the United States from Tuesday, January 29th into Wednesday, January 30th. This system contained unusually strong winds aloft, with wind speeds of 80 mph just 2500 feet above the surface and up to 150 mph at 20,000 feet. A record warm airmass with temperatures in the 60s and 70s spread northward ahead of the system into the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys, bringing weak atmospheric instability into the region. As a powerful cold front moved eastward across Middle Tennessee during the early morning hours of January 30, the strong low level jet ahead of the front caused strong gradient winds of 40 to 65 mph at the surface, resulting in several reports of wind damage. A peak sustained south wind of 45 mph with a peak gust of 64 mph was measured by the ASOS at the Nashville International Airport around 315 AM CST in association with these intense gradient winds. A line of showers and thunderstorms known as a Quasi-Linear Convective System (QLCS) developed along the front near the Tennessee River and raced eastward through the area between 2 AM and 6 AM, producing at least 23 tornadoes and widespread wind damage. This severe weather event resulted in 1 fatality and at least 3 injuries across the Mid State. The total of 23 tornadoes made the January 30, 2013 event the largest January tornado outbreak in Middle Tennessee history. It also made January 30, 2013 the second biggest outbreak of tornadoes for any month in Middle Tennessee history.