EF1 tornado in Smith County, Tennessee

A NWS storm survey along with high resolution Google Earth satellite imagery confirmed an EF1 tornado touched down in far southern Smith County southwest of the town of Hickman just north of Potter Road. The tornado completely destroyed a 1930s-era home being used as a storage building to the west of Kyle Hollow Lane, with contents blown up to 150 yards away. Numerous trees were also snapped and uprooted around the building and a nearby mobile home sustained minor exterior damage. Three homes on Jenkins Hill Road just west of Hill Road suffered minor to moderate roof damage and two nearby outbuildings were destroyed. A nearby barn was destroyed and another barn suffered roof damage. On Highway 264 at Jenkins Hall Road, a large barn was completely destroyed with debris blown over 200 yards away to the north, and another barn suffered minor roof damage. TDOT also reported Highway 264 was blocked by trees blown down across the roadways. Farther to the east, dozens of trees were snapped and uprooted in the hills and valleys around Nabors Hollow Lane, and one home received considerable roof damage before the tornado lifted. Special thanks to Smith County Emergency Management and @SmithCountyWx for their assistance with this storm survey.

The most damaging severe weather outbreak in Middle Tennessee since the December 23, 2015 Tornado Outbreak struck during the morning hours on March 1, 2017. A line of strong to severe thunderstorms with embedded circulations, known as a Quasi-Linear Convective System (or QLCS), moved rapidly across Middle Tennessee at 60-70 mph from west to east between 6 AM and 10 AM CST. Additional severe thunderstorms developed later in the morning and affected areas of southern Middle Tennessee from the late morning into the early afternoon hours. Widespread damaging winds were reported in nearly every county along and north of I-40 across Middle Tennessee, with winds estimated up to 90 mph in some areas. These intense downburst winds caused 3 injuries - two in Clarksville when a tree fell on a mobile home, and one in Lavergne when a tractor trailer flipped over. In addition to the damaging winds, 7 confirmed tornadoes also touched down from the Nashville metro area eastward to the Upper Cumberland, damaging hundreds of homes and businesses. Several reports of large hail were also received in parts of southern Middle Tennessee.