2020 Nashville tornado outbreak
A small but deadly tornado outbreak affected West and Middle Tennessee on the night of March 2 and into the morning of March 3, 2020, including a high-end EF3 tornado that hit Nashville and Mount Juliet, becoming the 6th costliest tornado in United States history, and a violent EF4 tornado that impacted areas in and just west of Cookeville. A total of 25 people were killed by the tornadoes,[2][3] with an additional 309 being injured, and more than 70,000 lost electricity. The path of the Nashville tornado was very similar to the one that hit East Nashville in 1998. A few additional tornadoes were also confirmed in Alabama, southeastern Missouri, and western Kentucky. Total damage from the event reached $1.607 billion according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.[1]
Meteorological history
10 hours, 38 minutes
15
175 mph (282 km/h) tornadic (Cookeville, TN EF4)
25 fatalities (+1 indirect), 309 injuries
$1.607 billion (2020 USD)[1]
73,000
- 165 mph (266 km/h)
EF3 tornado
5 fatalities, 220 injuries
$1.504 billion (2020 USD)
(6th costliest tornado in US history)
- 175 mph (282 km/h)
EF4 tornado
19 fatalities, 87 injuries
$100 million (2020 USD)
Non-tornadic impacts[edit]
The severe and tornadic thunderstorms across the region brought numerous other impacts aside from the tornadoes. In Kentucky, golf-ball sized hail fell in Paducah during the afternoon of March 2.[37] Later a microburst with winds near 85 mph (137 km/h) caused major damage to a marina on Lake Barkley in Kuttawa. One boat was blown off a lift and partially submerged; damage at the marina was estimated at $500,000 (2020 USD).[38] Flash flooding was also reported near the Hopkinsville Airport, where two cars were stranded, and Elkton due to the heavy rain.[39][40] Two roads in Coral Hill were also closed due to flowing water on the roadways.[41]
In Tennessee, the long-tracked Nashville supercell also bought baseball-to-lime-sized hail to Charlotte, shattering windshields of numerous cars and causing roof damage to some homes, leading to $15,000 (2020 USD) in damage.[42] Later, after the Nashville EF3 tornado had lifted, a four-mile (6.4 km) long swath of straight-line winds of up to 75 mph (121 km/h) affected eastern Smith County north of Lancaster, with several trees being snapped or uprooted and a few outbuildings suffering roof damage. Damage here was estimated at $10,000 (2020 USD).[43] Originally classified as an EF0 tornado, the beginning of the tornado track was shifted a couple miles west to the Smith–Putnam county line.[26]
Although spared from the worst impacts, Alabama also had their fair share of destructive weather the day after the outbreak on March 4. Severe thunderstorms bought destructive straight-line winds that downed numerous trees south of Interstate 85 across the southern part of the state. The highest wind gust was 59 mph (95 km/h) at the Troy Municipal Airport, which coincided with the many reports of downed trees around the city of Troy.[44]