Published: March 3, 2020
Percent of each state's tornadoes from 1950 through 2005 that occurred at night.
Deadly tornadoes hit Tennessee early Tuesday morning, where homes, businesses and other structures have suffered serious damage.
Here are a few notable facts about this tragic event.
Tennessee Has a Reputation For Dangerous Nighttime Tornadoes
The tornadic storms struck Tennessee when most people were sleeping early Tuesday morning. A tornado watch was issued for middle Tennessee at 11:20 pm Monday night.
Tornadoes occurring at night are more than twice as likely to be deadly as those during the day.
One study found that 46% of tornadoes in Tennessee touched down after dark from 1950 through 2005. That's the highest percentage for any state.
It's the Deadliest Tornado Event in Tennessee Since April 2011
At least 25 people have died in the storms that hit Tennessee early Tuesday, but it's not certain exactly how many of those deaths were caused by tornadoes.
Regardless, it's likely this will be the deadliest tornado event in Tennessee since April 27, 2011, when 31 were killed in the state during the 2011 super outbreak.
Since 2012, no more than three people had been killed by tornadoes in a single year in the state until Tuesday.
Déjà Vu For Nashville and Super Tuesday
The tornado damage in downtown Nashville occurred near the path of two of the city's historic tornadoes.
Those tornadoes, both rated F3, struck on April 16, 1998, and March 14, 1933.
The estimated path of Tuesday morning's tornado (green line below) crossed the path of those two tornadoes (purple and orange lines below) in the Five Points area of east Nashville, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
We’ve received a TON of questions on how does this March 3, 2020 Tornado compare to the April 16, 1998 and March 14, 1933 Downtown Nashville Tornadoes?
March 3, 2020 Nashville Tornado had a path near but not quite exactly like the tornadoes of April 16, 1998 & March 14, 1933.
However, all 3 tornadoes struck the 5 Points area of East Nashville. The 1998 and 1933 tornadoes occurred during the afternoon, while the 2020 tornado occurred in the middle of the night.
Shoutout to @shamnadoes for this early morning map work.
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This event also stirs up memories of another tornado outbreak that hit Tennessee on the day of the state's Super Tuesday presidential primary.
Tennessee was hit hard on the evening of the Super Tuesday tornado outbreak of Feb. 5, 2008. The tornadoes killed 31 people in Tennessee, but Nashville was spared.
Tornadoes Struck a Year After Last Year's Deadliest Outbreak
March 3 is also the one-year anniversary of last year's deadliest U.S. tornado outbreak.
More than three dozen tornadoes struck parts of Alabama, Georgia, northern Florida and South Carolina a year ago. The worst of them was an EF4 that killed 23 people in Lee County, Alabama.
A Large Outbreak Isn't Needed For Major Impacts
As of this writing, there were nearly four dozen reports of severe weather in parts of the Ohio Valley and Tennessee Valley late Monday night into early Tuesday morning. Most of those reports were for large hail.
That's not an extreme number of severe weather reports for a day in March. The month has had an average of 34 reports of severe weather per day in the past 10 years (2010-2019). Many March days have had no severe weather reports, while others have had totals in the hundreds.
This was a high-impact tornado event on a night when severe weather was not particularly widespread. It once again illustrates that you should never let your guard down, even on days when the threat of severe weather is not at extreme levels.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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