A line of severe storms swept across the Tennessee Valley with strong wind gusts of 50-60 mph and an isolated threat of spin-up tornadoes. A strong cold front moved through the Tennessee Valley overnight Sunday into Monday morning, with the Chattanooga area in Level 2 Risk for severe storms, with storms arriving before sunrise Monday approximately 2am-7am ET locally. The main threats include damaging wind and the risk for isolated tornadoes, with strong gust potential leading to downed trees and power outages.
The severe weather left a trail of impacts across the region. Heavy, gusty winds ushered in the latest round of severe storms to the Midstate late Sunday night, with every Middle Tennessee county placed under a Tornado Watch on Sunday, with many counties escalating to Tornado Warnings as storms developed. 10 homes and 1 commercial building were reported damaged in Lawrence County's Bonnertown area with hundreds of trees reported down. Power outages affected multiple utility companies with thousands of customers without power, including Nashville Electric Service reporting more than 3,700 customers affected.
As the storm system pushes eastward, a sharp drop in temperature follows the cold front with left over rain potentially ending as flurries and snow showers, especially at higher elevations with some light accumulation possible at higher elevations like the Plateau and eastern mountains. Temperatures continued to fall throughout Monday with flurries and snow showers arriving around lunchtime, afternoon temperatures in the 30s to low 40s, and breezy conditions with wind gusts of 20-30 mph.
Chattanooga residents should watch for debris in roads and slick spots from rainfall and stay away from any downed trees and powerlines. Make preparations to protect early blooming plants as freezing temperatures are expected. Updates on severe weather impacts in Middle Tennessee are available from local emergency management.