Thunderstorm Wind — Humphreys, Tennessee

2019-10-26 · near Sycamore Lndg, Humphreys, Tennessee

Event narrative

A 5-10 mile wide swath of severe downburst winds struck the central portions of Humphreys County, roughly from the Tennessee River border area with Perry County northeastward through Hurricane Mills, between Waverly and McEwen, to areas between Highway 13 and Highway 231 along the Houston County border. Dozens of power lines and power poles were blown down and thousands of trees were snapped or uprooted, with some falling on homes mainly in the Cuba Landing and Sycamore Landing areas in southwest Humphreys County. Multiple tractor-trailers were also blown over onto their sides on the I-40 bridge across the Tennessee River. Power outages lasted up to 2 weeks, with most Humphreys County schools closed during this 2 week period. Damage estimates from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency across Humphreys County reached $2.41 million. Winds were estimated up to 90 mph.

Wider weather episode

The remnant surface low pressure of former Tropical Storm Olga moved north-northeastward across far western portions of Middle Tennessee during the afternoon hours on October 26. This system brought a 5 to 10 mile wide swath of severe convective winds estimated at up to 95 mph across northwest Perry County, Humphreys County, eastern Houston County, and western Montgomery County, roughly along a line from Parsons, TN to the northwest half of Clarksville, TN. These severe winds brought down thousands of trees and power lines, resulting in widespread power outages that lasted up to 2 weeks in some areas. Some structural damage to homes and businesses also occurred, especially across northwest Perry County and in the Clarksville area, although the majority of damage was caused by falling trees. Damage across these four counties was estimated at $8.07 million by the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.8388, -87.9374)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 862183. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.