Author: Meteorologist Mark

A new tornado watch has been issued for those of us who live along and south of I-40 until 8:00. It will be allowed to expire before then, though.  The only exception is Putnam County, which is no longer under a tornado watch. Fentress, Overton, and Pickett Counties have been dropped too. They were affected by that primary line earlier and their atmosphere has stabilized.

The rest of us have to worry about the line that developed north out of Alabama. That should arrive on the plateau between 2-3:00 pm. Everyone please stay weather aware for the rest of the afternoon, esp if you live along and south of I-40. I’ll keep an eye on it.

The Storm Prediction Center just issue a discussion (red-circled area) that says that they are going to issue a new tornado watch. I’m not sure it will reach into Cumberland County. It just depends on how far north that line in Alabama will develop. Those of you south of I-40 stand the greatest chance of seeing severe storms. Those should arrive between 2-3:00.

As our initial line moves east, it broke. The strongest part of that is moving into southern Kentucky. Had it held southward, it would have arrived right at noon for us.  Now, we have to watch that activity you see in northern Alabama. That line will likely develop northward in time, as it pushes east. I’m just not sure the worst of it will make it as far north as Crossville. I’ll watch it.

This has become a very messy situation and one that is evolving. As of now (noon), there are no warnings on the plateau, though we do remain under a tornado watch until 1:00. I wouldn’t be surprised to see that extended a little bit.

With that line developing out of Alabama, the Storm Prediction Center has increased our risk for tornadoes, if only slightly. Straight-line winds remain the primary threat. Alabama is expecting some strong tornadoes. Again, if those storms get especially active, it could steal a lot of our atmosphere’s energy.

If that first line had pushed through we’d all be alright. But, it didn’t.

It looks to me like those of you north of I-40 and were affected by that first line, have a much lower risk of severe storms than the rest of us do for the rest of the day.

Just stay weather aware through the afternoon. It now looks like it will be more like 2:00 or so before I will be able to give the all-clear.

You all stay tuned and stay safe.

This is another radar view, showing the Alabama storms better. Notice how that line is trying to develop northward. I’ll give hourly updates (or sooner, as needed) until this has pushed through. We may end up sandwiched between two bad areas of storms and just get heavy downpours and gusty winds.

Storms are now moving into western Putnam County. They are steadily moving eastward. The warnings are along and north of I-40. The southern flank of that line could fill in more as the system approaches the plateau.

Lightning continues to be decreasing. Notice how the energy is shifting to Alabama and Mississippi. That often saves us in situations like this. Let’s hope that’s the case today!

Thankfully, the tornado threat remains low. The hail threat is practically non-existent. The main threat remains the straight-line wind threat. The line of storms should be passed us by 1:00. I’ll let you know when we get the all-clear.

Parts of Overton, Jackson, and Clay counties just went under a severe t-storm warning until 11:45. Take cover if you live in those counties.

The line should be approaching Cumberland and Fentress Counties at noon.