Severe storms and a few tornados are possible in Nashville and much of Middle Tennessee on Sunday night, ending a month of scattershot weather that already made the region more vulnerable to flash flooding.
The National Weather Service forecasts that “a line of severe storms” will arrive in Middle Tennessee between 6 p.m. to midnight, and the western half of the state is under a tornado watch until 10 p.m. Even in areas with no tornadoes, storms are expected to bring damaging winds up to 60 mph and another 1 to 3 inches of rain.
National Weather Service meteorologist Sam Herron said any damage reported has been isolated. Parts of Middle Tennessee saw gusts of high-speed wind, flash flooding and hail.
Current warnings and watches
Flood advisory: A flood advisory was issued by the NWS for cities in Cheatham and Montgomery counties along the Cumberland River through Thursday morning. The river is expected to swell to a crest of 43 feet. Low areas near the river could flood.
Davidson County is under a flood advisory for the Stones River near Donelson and for the Cumberland River near downtown.
Flash flood warning until 11 p.m.: Davidson; Maury; Rutherford; Smith; Williamson; Wilson.
Between 1 and 2.5 inches of rain have fallen. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly. Turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. A Flash Flood Warning means that flooding is imminent or occurring. If you are in the warned area move to higher ground immediately. Residents living along streams and creeks should take immediate precautions to protect life and property.
There is a considerable threat, NWS reported.
Tornado watch until 10 p.m.: Giles; Lawrence; Lewis; Marshall; Maury; Wayne; Williamson;
Severe thunderstorm watch until 10 p.m. Bedford; Cannon; Coffee; Cumberland; De Kalb; Fentress; Grundy; Jackson; Overton; Pickett; Putnam; Rutherford; Smith; Van Buren; Warren; White; Wilson.
Flash flood watch through Monday afternoon: Franklin, Lincoln and Moore counties.
Storm effects
Flash flooding was reported throughout Stewart County around 7:15 p.m.
Multiple roads were flooded across Robertson County around 7:30 p.m.
Dickson County Schools will be reporting to class two hours late due storm damage.
Wind speeds of up to 54 mph were measured at the John C. Tune Airport in Nashville around 7:45 p.m.
Quarter-sized hail was spotted in southeastern Davidson into Wilson County.
1,300 outages were reported by the Nashville Electric Service.
Nashville weather radar
Middle Tennessee forecast
The rain may lead to sudden flooding in areas with poor drainage and is likely to swell creeks and streams immediately and cause large rivers to rise over the next few days, said meteorologist James LaRosa.
“Everything is already so wet, not just from the rain we’ve had, but also the snow,” LaRosa said. “The snow and ice that melted really saturated our soil, so whatever rain we get runs off very quickly.”
As of Sunday morning, the weather service predicted there was a 5% chance of a tornado within 25 miles of any given spot in much of Middle Tennessee and all of West Tennessee. Both Nashville and Memphis fell within this forecast area.
The weather service predicted a lower risk of about 2% reaching east to about Claiborne County.
La Rosa said Sunday storms would likely begin in the Clarksville area, which can expect heavy rainfall and possible flash flooding during the day. Nashville and surrounding counties are unlikely to see heavy rain until the afternoon and evening.
He urged Tennesseans to ensure they had a way to monitor the weather conditions throughout the night, when the storms will be at their worst.
“Have a plan to receive weather information overnight, whether it’s with your phone or weather radio,” LaRosa said. “The time is not great — overnight hours are when people are sleeping, so they aren’t weather aware — so just make sure you have an option to get weather information.”
Most of the storms should be over by daybreak on Monday, although some areas are likely to have lingering showers in the morning, LaRosa said. The weather is forecast to dry out on Monday night, followed by a 30% to 50% chance of more showers on Tuesday, then partly sunny and mostly clear skies on Wednesday.
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