Thunderstorm Wind — White, Tennessee

2020-03-29 · near Mt Pisgah, White, Tennessee

Event narrative

A massive, severe 22 miles long by 5 miles wide macroburst moved across White County from the DeKalb County border 4 miles northwest of Walling to the Cumberland County border 4 miles west-southwest of Pleasant Hill. Significant and severe wind damage affected areas in and around Mt. Pisgah, Doyle, Mt. Gilead, Sparta, Bear Cove, Bon Air Mountain, De Rossett, and Ravenscroft, including on Petit Cove Road, Franks Ferry Road, Hensley Chapel Road, Thomas Street, Norene Road, Mt. Gilead Church Road, McMinnville Highway, Crawford Circle, Highway 111, Iris Drive, Brogden Road, Hickory Valley Road, Skyline Drive, Red Bud Trail, Baker Mountain Road, and Ravenscroft Road. With the large area of this macroburst, a few homes lost all or parts of their roofs and porches, and at least one mobile home was flipped over and destroyed. A stopped train was blown partially off the tracks on Iris Drive. Many barns and other outbuildings were destroyed. Hundreds of trees were snapped and uprooted, with many falling onto homes, barns, and outbuildings. Numerous roads were blocked by fallen trees, power lines, power poles, and other debris. Winds within the macroburst were estimated up to 95 mph.

Wider weather episode

Severe thunderstorms rumbled across Middle Tennessee from the afternoon hours of March 28 into the early morning hours of March 29, 2020. One supercell in the afternoon hours of March 28 produced large hail in Stewart County, then a broken line of severe storms with individual intense bow echoes raced across the rest of Middle Tennessee at speeds up to 80 mph from the late evening of March 28 into the early morning of March 29, causing widespread wind damage, large hail, and one EF-0 tornado in White County. The worst damage occurred across White and Cumberland Counties, where winds estimated up to 95 mph caused millions of dollars in damage and injured 1 person.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.8546, -85.6328)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 883356. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.