The severe thunderstorm warnings for the plateau have now expired. The storms that caused the warnings have pushed off the plateau and into East TN.
It looked like, on radar, that the highest winds were north of the interstate. I saw smaller gusts all across the plateau that likely exceeded 60 mph, but the most widespread wind damage potential appeared to be from northern Cumberland County into southern Fentress, and again just north of Jamestown.
More storms are firing off across the southern half of West TN. You hear me refer to “bow echoes”, or squall lines that bow out. Within the bowing segments is where the strongest winds are. Often times, more storms will fire in the wake of these bow echoes. We call this the “bow and arrow echo”, the bowing out part racing ahead, and a line of additional storms forming in the wake of the bow.
A special discussion from the Storm Prediction Center discusses this. The storms in West TN will be monitored over the coming hours.
The storms that form like this often form on the southern flank of where the line of storms passed. That bow echo leaves behind a cold pool of air. However, folks to the south of that line are still warm and humid. That interaction between those two boundaries sets off new storms. At this time, I expect much of that activity to stay south of the plateau. Again. I’ll keep an eye on that.
The severe thunderstorm watch remains in effect until 8:00 pm, unless it’s cancelled early.
In other words, more storms are possible through the evening but the severe threat for our region has been reduced.
My concern for additional storms is on the low side. I’ll keep an eye on things and update you all, as needed. I’ll for sure do at least one more update this evening.
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