NWS, “If there’s ever a day to be weather aware…..today is that day.”
WHAT: Severe thunderstorms
TIME: 3:00 pm – Midnight
THREATS: Large hail, damaging straight-line winds, flash flooding, and tornadoes. Some tornadoes could be strong and long-track.
CURRENT WEATHER STATEMENTS:
Flood watch until midnight.
Wind advisory from 4:00 pm Thursday to 4:00 am Friday. Winds gusts to 40 mph.
SUMMARY:
I just listened in on a “high-impact” weather briefing from the NWS Nashville and they continue to urge everyone to pay attention to the weather today. Don’t find comfort in seeing higher threat levels to our southwest. We are ALL under the gun today.
A “particularly dangerous situation” (PDS) tornado watch has just been issued for parts of Mississippi, Alabama, and southern Middle Tennessee until 8:00 pm. A PDS watch is a higher level of threat than a “regular” tornado watch. They warn of long-track, strong/violent tornadoes.
We will be very mindful of these storms, as some of these storms may move toward the Cumberland Plateau later this afternoon and evening. Then, we have a nasty squall line to contend with later on into the evening.
Look for tornado watches to be issued for us this afternoon. I’ll let you know when that happens. Remember, you can get your info from me (thank you!) but your warnings will come from the National Weather Service in Nashville.
One of the latest models is concerning, especially for northern Mississippi, northern Alabama and southern Middle Tennessee. This shows storms this afternoon.
Familiarize yourself with the counties to our west. Our warnings will come from the west and southwest. Storms will be moving very rapidly, so any warning issued to our southwest will need to be monitored very closely. For Cumberland County, we’ll watch for warnings in Putnam, White, and Van Buren Counties. We might even be mindful of what happens in Dekalb and Warren Counties. Those of you in other counties, look to the counties to the left (west) of you. If they go under a warning, go ahead and consider yourself under a warning. Storms will move at speeds of up to 70 mph.
I’ve circled the area I’ll be watching very closely this afternoon. If a supercell develops there, we will be able to track it toward the plateau. These storms will likely produce tornadoes.
Notice the breaks in the clouds on satellite. Any sun at all will only work to destabilize the atmosphere even more. We do not want sunshine today.
NOTES:
If you know anyone who is out camping please make sure they know how dangerous today could be.
Make sure you’re ready to act quickly today. Make sure you have that tornado plan figured out.
YOU CANNOT STAY IN A MOBILE HOME. Under no circumstances are you to stay in a mobile home. If you have neighbors who live in a mobile home and you live in a better constructed home, consider reaching out and offering shelter. Keep in mind that warnings only last minutes. That’s not long to invite someone to take shelter.
Get to the lowest level of your house/building, away from windows.
Wear a helmet.
Protect yourself from flying debris.
Wear that whistle I’ve talked about.
Follow the blog to get updates sent to your email. Find that “Follow” button in the lower right corner of your screen. Thank you!
You all take care. I’ll update again at 2:00, or as needed.
Mark, I just found out about you and the great weather service you provide. My wife and I are amateur weather buffs and monitor via a number of apps. I am very happy to find a local meteorologist for the plateau. Thank you very much.
I’m so glad you found me! Thank you for following along.
Thank you Mark.
We are camping at Norris Dam State Park in Rocky Top, will we see severe weather here?
Please pay close attention to the weather, Ellen. You’re threat is lower but certainly not to be ignored. Stay safe.
Thank you! I appreciate all you do to keep us safe!