Severe Thunderstorms and Heavy Rainfall Across the South; Heat Spreads Across the West and Southern Plains

A couple of frontal boundaries will move east and south from the Plains to the Gulf and Atlantic coastlines. These boundaries will focus showers and thunderstorms through the weekend, with scattered severe thunderstorms from the Southern Plains and across the Gulf Coast states. Locally heavy rainfall may also occur, which may be welcome news across drought areas. Meanwhile, heat spreads westward. Read More >

The Historic Tornado Outbreak of April 27, 2011 across East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia

Tornado track map across the WFO Morristown County Warning Area on April 27
(Glade Springs, VA tornado occurred early on April 28 - track here )

Videotaped presentations on the 27 April 2011 Super Tornado Outbreak in east Tennessee and southwest Virginia.

On April 27, 2011, a historic outbreak of tornadoes occurred across the southeastern United States. This page is a summary of what happened in the WFO Morristown County Warning Area which covers east Tennessee, southwest Virginia, and extreme southwest North Carolina. The total tornado count across the WFO Morristown County Warning Area is 57.

Tornado Name and Strength	Counties Affected	Fatalities	Injuries
Collegedale EF4	Hamilton, Bradley, Polk, McMinn	13	200+
New Harmony/Graysville EF4	Sequatchie, Bledsoe, Rhea	4	10
Smoky Mountains EF4	Blount	0	0
Horse Creek EF3	Greene, Washington TN	2	0
Camp Creek EF3	Greene, Washington TN	6	33
Glade Springs EF3	Washington VA	3	50
E Cleveland EF2	Bradley, Polk, McMinn	3	0
Hopewell EF2	Bradley	0	1
Haletown/Nickajack EF2	Marion	0	0
E Dunlap EF2	Sequatchie	0	0
Lookout Valley EF2	Hamilton	0	0
Ducktown/S Fall Branch EF2	Greene, Washington TN	0	0
Butler EF2	Johnson	2	0
Red Bank EF1	Hamilton	0	0
Ooltewah EF1	Hamilton	0	0
Ridgeside EF1	Hamilton	0	0
East Ridge EF1	Hamilton	0	0
Birchwood EF1	Hamilton	0	0
St Elmo EF1	Hamilton	0	0
Cleveland EF1	Bradley	1	0
E Cleveland EF1	Bradley	0	0
SW Haletown EF1	Marion	0	0
N Dunlap EF1	Sequatchie, Bledsoe	0	0
Spring City EF1	Rhea	0	0
NE Englewood/S Madisonville EF1	McMinn, Monroe	0	0
NE Madisonville EF1	Monroe	0	0
S Madisonville EF1	Monroe	0	0
Abingdon EF1	Washington VA	0	0
Green Cove EF1	Washington VA	0	0
Smoky Mountains EF1	Blount	0	0
S Knoxville EF1	Knox	0	0
Newport EF1	Cocke	0	0
Del Rio EF1	Cocke	0	0
Harrison EF0	Hamilton	0	0
Hixson EF0	Hamilton	0	0
Ooltewah/West Cleveland EF0	Hamilton, Bradley	1	0
NW Cleveland EF0	Bradley	0	0
Hiwassee River EF0	Meigs	0	0
NE Madisonville EF0	Monroe	0	0
NW Tellico Plains EF0	Monroe	0	0
NW Tellico Plains EF0	Monroe	0	0
NE Athens EF0	Monroe	0	0
Jefferson City EF0	Jefferson	0	0
Seymour EF0	Sevier	0	0
Louisville EF0	Blount	0	0
E Greenback EF0	Blount	0	0
W Greenback EF0	Loudon	0	0
Farragut EF0	Knox	0	0
W Morristown EF0	Hamblen	0	0
N Hartford EF0	Cocke	0	0
Patriot Hills EF0	Jefferson	0	0
White Pine EF0	Jefferson	0	0
Reedy Creek EF0	Washington VA	0	0
McGaha Hollow EF0	Sevier, Jefferson	0	0
Houston Valley EF0	Greene	0	0
Mohawk EF0	Greene	0	0
NW Ooltewah EF0	Hamilton	0	0

This outbreak began with the first wave of severe thunderstorms that moved across middle Tennessee and northern Alabama in the early morning hours of April 27, 2011. These storms continued into east Tennessee before weakening in central east Tennessee.
NOTE: these radar loops have missing frames and will skip in places.

KHTX radar loop from 6 AM EDT (5 AM CDT) until 11 AM EDT (10 AM CDT) of the initial severe thunderstorm line on the morning of April 27, 2011

Radar loop from the Hytop radar (in northeast Alabama) from 6 AM EDT (5 AM CDT) until 11 AM EDT (10 AM CDT) of the initial severe thunderstorm line on the morning of April 27, 2011.

KMRX radar loop from 7 AM EDT (6 AM CDT) until 11 AM EDT (10 AM CDT) of the initial severe thunderstorm line across east Tennessee on the morning of April 27, 2011

Radar loop from the Morristown radar (in northeast Tennessee) from 7 AM EDT (6 AM CDT) until 11 AM EDT (10 AM CDT) of the initial severe thunderstorm line across east Tennessee on the morning of April 27, 2011.

After this initial line of severe thunderstorms weakened, additional supercells (i.e. rotating thunderstorms) redeveloped over middle Tennessee and Alabama in the afternoon.
NOTE: these radar loops have missing frames and will skip in places.

Radar loop from the Hytop radar (in northeast Alabama) from 1 PM EDT (12 PM CDT) until 6 PM EDT (5 PM CDT) of the supercells (i.e. rotating thunderstorms) across middle Tennessee and northern Alabama on the afternoon of April 27, 2011.

KHTX radar loop from 1 PM EDT (12 PM CDT) until 6 PM EDT (5 PM CDT) of the supercells across middle Tennessee and northern Alabama on the afternoon of April 27, 2011

Radar loop from the Morristown radar (in northeast Tennessee) from 2 PM EDT until 8 PM EDT of the supercells (i.e. rotating thunderstorms) in east Tennessee on the afternoon of April 27, 2011.

The incredibly strong wind field kept additional supercells (i.e. rotating thunderstorms) redeveloping over east Tennessee and southwest Virginia late into the evening.
NOTE: these radar loops have missing frames and will skip in places.

KMRX radar loop from 2 PM EDT until 8 PM EDT of the supercells across east Tennessee on the afternoon of April 27, 2011

Radar loop from the Morristown radar (in northeast Tennessee) from 8 PM EDT until 2 AM EDT of the supercells (i.e. rotating thunderstorms) in east Tennessee and southwest Virginia on the evening of April 27, 2011.

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Severe Thunderstorms and Heavy Rainfall Across the South; Heat Spreads Across the West and Southern Plains

Summary of the 27 April 2011 tornado outbreak across east Tennessee and southwest Virginia

The Historic Tornado Outbreak of April 27, 2011 across East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia

Tornado track map across the WFO Morristown County Warning Area on April 27 (Glade Springs, VA tornado occurred early on April 28 - track here )

Tornado track map across the WFO Morristown County Warning Area on April 27
(Glade Springs, VA tornado occurred early on April 28 - track here )