A prolonged convective event with deep moist southerly flow in an unstable environment with strong wind shear generated supercell thunderstorms across Southeast Tennessee and Southwest North Carolina. The lengthy period of heavy rain resulted in widespread three to four inch rainfall totals across East Tennessee, Southwest North Carolina, and Southwest Virginia.

Thunderstorm Wind in SEQUATCHIE, TENNESSEE
From 12-APR-20 18:30:00 to 12-APR-20 18:30:00 (CST-6)
Location: DUNLAP
Magnitude: 55.00 EG
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Trees were reported down near Dunlap.

Thunderstorm Wind in MONROE, TENNESSEE
From 12-APR-20 20:50:00 to 12-APR-20 20:50:00 (EST-5)
Location: TELLICO PLAINS
Magnitude: 55.00 EG
Reported by: State Official

Several trees were reported down.

Thunderstorm Wind in BRADLEY, TENNESSEE
From 12-APR-20 22:51:00 to 12-APR-20 22:51:00 (EST-5)
Location: CHESTUEE
Magnitude: 60.00 EG
Reported by: Public

Four large trees were reported down and a shed was destroyed in the eastern part of Cleveland.

Thunderstorm Wind in HAMILTON, TENNESSEE
From 12-APR-20 22:53:00 to 12-APR-20 22:53:00 (EST-5)
Location: MONTLAKE
Magnitude: 60.00 EG
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Trees were reported down with power outages. Also, a ham radio tower was downed at 8612 Bill Reed Road in Ooltewah.

Thunderstorm Wind in POLK, TENNESSEE
From 12-APR-20 23:40:00 to 12-APR-20 23:40:00 (EST-5)
Location: HIWASSEE BEACH
Magnitude: 55.00 EG
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Numerous trees were reported down across the county. The area around Reliance was hit especially hard. The time of occurrence was estimated from radar.

Thunderstorm Wind in BLOUNT, TENNESSEE
From 13-APR-20 01:00:00 to 13-APR-20 01:00:00 (EST-5)
Location: LAWSON XRDS
Magnitude: 50.00 EG
Reported by: Public

Several trees were reported down.

Thunderstorm Wind in HAMILTON, TENNESSEE
From 12-APR-20 22:24:00 to 12-APR-20 22:24:00 (EST-5)
Location: (CHA)LOVELL FLD CHAT
Magnitude: 54.00 MG
Reported by: ASOS

Wind gust recorded at the Chattanooga airport.

Thunderstorm Wind in POLK, TENNESSEE
From 12-APR-20 21:00:00 to 12-APR-20 21:00:00 (EST-5)
Location: CONASAUGA
Magnitude: 55.00 EG
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Numerous trees and power lines were reported down.

Flash Flood in MONROE, TENNESSEE
From 12-APR-20 23:47:00 to 13-APR-20 03:00:00 (EST-5)
Location: MADISONVILLE
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Water rescue in progress on Maxwell Road near County Farm Road. Several roads flooded.

Flash Flood in BRADLEY, TENNESSEE
From 13-APR-20 00:30:00 to 13-APR-20 03:00:00 (EST-5)
Location: CLEVELAND
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Several roadways around Cleveland are flooded and some impassable.

Flash Flood in SEVIER, TENNESSEE
From 13-APR-20 00:57:00 to 13-APR-20 04:00:00 (EST-5)
Location: SEYMOUR
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Several roads flooded and some were impassable around Seymour.

Flash Flood in MCMINN, TENNESSEE
From 13-APR-20 01:15:00 to 13-APR-20 04:00:00 (EST-5)
Location: ATHENS
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Several roads flooded across the county.

Flash Flood in SEVIER, TENNESSEE
From 13-APR-20 02:55:00 to 13-APR-20 04:00:00 (EST-5)
Location: GATLINBURG
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

West Prong Little Pigeon River flooded the Aquarium Bridge.

Flash Flood in WASHINGTON, TENNESSEE
From 13-APR-20 03:00:00 to 13-APR-20 06:00:00 (EST-5)
Location: JOHNSON CITY
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: 911 Call Center

Water rescue of a stranded motorist. Water threatening a couple of trailer parks.

Flash Flood in CARTER, TENNESSEE
From 13-APR-20 03:48:00 to 13-APR-20 06:00:00 (EST-5)
Location: ROAN MTN
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Several roads were reported flooded. The Doe River is out of its banks at Roan Mountain and Hampton.

Flash Flood in UNICOI, TENNESSEE
From 13-APR-20 04:48:00 to 13-APR-20 07:00:00 (EST-5)
Location: ROCK CREEK
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Flooding of Upper Higgins Creek and Rice Creek prompted the evacuation of homes in the Temple Hill area.

Thunderstorm Wind in HAMILTON, TENNESSEE
From 12-APR-20 22:17:00 to 12-APR-20 22:17:00 (EST-5)
Location: BRAINERD
Magnitude: 55.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

A large, uprooted tree fell across the corner of a permanent home. The tree destroyed the underlying structure of the roof and laid across an occupied bed. This damage occurred northwest of the eastern Hamilton County tornado and was associated with the heavy precipitation and consequentially strong outflow wind gusts.

Tornado in BRADLEY, TENNESSEE
From 12-APR-20 22:45:00 to 12-APR-20 22:50:00 (EST-5)
Location: CLEVELAND
Tornado F-scale: EF2
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

The storm from Hamilton County moved into Bradley County with a mesocyclone moving directly over downtown Cleveland. A tornado then formed quickly in Cleveland, less than a mile east northeast of downtown. A residential section was hit, comprising single family homes as well as mobile homes, with 26 destroyed, 23 receiving major damage, and 62 other dwellings affected. A church in this area was heavily damaged and hundreds of trees were either uprooted, or had large limbs snapped. The tornado then moved out of the city before occluding and dissipating in rural areas near Benton Pike east of downtown.

Tornado in BRADLEY, TENNESSEE
From 12-APR-20 22:50:00 to 12-APR-20 22:55:00 (EST-5)
Location: EAST CLEVELAND
Tornado F-scale: EF1
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

After the Cleveland tornado occluded, the parent mesocyclone spawned another tornado that began near Michigan Avenue Road and Minnis Road. Snapped and uprooted trees were seen in this area along with downed utility poles. The tornado continued moving northeast and strengthened near Corvin and Wilkerson Roads where single family homes sustained significant roof damage, several barns and outbuildings were either partially or completely destroyed, and hundreds of trees were snapped or uprooted. This type of damage continued along Chatata Valley Road through Julian Road. The tornado then began to dissipate along Julian Road northeast of Evans Road where damage was mainly to trees and roof shingles.

Tornado in BRADLEY, TENNESSEE
From 12-APR-20 22:55:00 to 12-APR-20 23:00:00 (EST-5)
Location: JULIAN CHAPEL
Tornado F-scale: EF1
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

Around the time that the Cleveland 2E tornado was occluding along Julian Road, another tornado began developing south of Tasso just to the southwest of the New Friendship Cemetery. Many trees were snapped and uprooted in the cemetery, and a wooded area between the cemetery and a private residence was deforested. The tornado weakened as it moved across Chatata Valley Road before restrengthening along Cates Lane and Morgan Road where hundreds of trees were snapped or uprooted along with roof and cosmetic damage to a few single family homes and outbuildings. Similar damage continued as the tornado traveled along Baker Bridge Road before it began to weaken with its path becoming less defined. The tornado dissipated near Geren and Upper River Roads where a wider area of tree damage occurred.

Flash Flood in MARION, TENNESSEE
From 12-APR-20 20:00:00 to 13-APR-20 01:30:00 (CST-6)
Location: JASPER
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 5.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: 911 Call Center

Many flooded roads. Water in some homes. Many streams have overflowed their banks.

Flash Flood in BLOUNT, TENNESSEE
From 13-APR-20 01:30:00 to 13-APR-20 04:00:00 (EST-5)
Location: ROCKFORD
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 5.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: 911 Call Center

Numerous roads flooded in northwestern portion of the county. A business and a home took water.

Tornado in BRADLEY, TENNESSEE
From 12-APR-20 22:31:00 to 12-APR-20 22:33:00 (EST-5)
Location: MINERAL PARK
Tornado F-scale: EF0
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

This tornado started near Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia in Catoosa County and tracked across eastern Hamilton County in Tennessee. The tornado weakened as it crossed South Lee Highway and eventually dissipated in southwestern Bradley County. The tornado crossed into Bradley County approximately 1.9 miles southwest of McDonald. This portion of the tornado in Bradley County was rated as EF0.

Flash Flood in MARION, TENNESSEE
From 12-APR-20 21:00:00 to 12-APR-20 21:05:00 (CST-6)
Location: KIMBALL
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Vehicle on Kimball Cove Road came to a flooded bridge over Kimball Cove Branch. The two occupants left the vehicle, and one was washed downstream and perished.

Tornado in POLK, TENNESSEE
From 12-APR-20 22:59:00 to 12-APR-20 23:00:00 (EST-5)
Location: BENTON STATION
Tornado F-scale: EF0
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

This tornado began in Bradley County near Tasso just to the southwest of the New Friendship Cemetery. After crossing Baker Bridge Road in northeast Bradley County it began to weaken with its path was less defined. The tornado crossed into Polk County approximately 2.9 miles north-northwest of Benton, Tennessee. The tornado dissipated near Geren and Upper River Roads where a wider area of tree damage occurred.

Tornado in HAMILTON, TENNESSEE
From 12-APR-20 22:19:00 to 12-APR-20 22:31:00 (EST-5)
Location: EAST RIDGE
Tornado F-scale: EF3
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

Ground surveys and radar data suggest the tornado touched down on the south side of Fort Oglethorpe, near the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center in Catoosa County. The tornado crossed I-75 along Scruggs Road, then crossed the Tennessee/Georgia state-line somewhere between Scruggs Road and GA-Hwy 41 (Ringgold Rd in Tennessee). It quickly moved across the Harris Hills area where some trees were uprooted and then continued towards East Brainerd Road and Stratman Circle where an auto parts store was completely leveled and nearby structures had significant roof damage done. The tornado then struck the end of a large shopping building where a restaurant was located. The restaurant facade was destroyed and the roof was peeled back. This is where the tornado picked up strength and was near its peak intensity. It continued northeast into the Drake Forest neighborhood where extensive structure, roof, and tree damage was noted. There were likely pockets of EF-3 damage here, as well. The tornado damage path really widened as it moved northeast into the Holly Hills neighborhood. This was likely the widest part of the tornado. Nearly as far as you could see to the southeast, tree trunks were snapped and significant home damage was noted. Some areas were blocked by tree debris and fallen power poles as well as large debris removal machinery which limited easy access to some areas. Additional damage was found in Ooltewah near the Summit Softball Complex and particularly significant roof damage to several units/buildings of the Integra Hills Preserve Apartments. The tornado weakened as it crossed South Lee Highway and eventually dissipated in southwestern Bradley County.