Tornado and Floods near Joelton and Cedar Hill, June 17, 1934

DEAR SIR:

Reports received at this office indicate that a storm occurred in your vicinity on (blank). The Weather Bureau desires to obtain reliable information respecting the details of all severe storms and tornadoes, and to this end I will thank you to furnish, at your earliest convenience, the information called for below as far as practicable.

If you are not personally prepared to give the desired information, kindly hand this letter to some one who may have knowledge of the occurrence.

If no storm occurred in your immediate vicinity on the date indicated, please so state.

Kindly return this paper in the inclosed envelope, which requires no postage.

Very respectfully,
R. M. Williamson.

Place where storm occurred, Davidson-Robertson county line North of Joelton

Date and hour of storm, 5:00 p.m. June 17, 1934

Direction of movement; it came from the SE and went to the NW

Width of the path of the storm, 50 yards

A tornado usually has a well-defined, pendant, funnel-shaped cloud, with rotary winds of sufficient violence to uproot trees and prostrate buildings. Did this storm have such a cloud and winds, or were the winds simply straight-line winds? apparantly small tornado

In what direction did the trees lie on the north side of path? SW; in the center of path? standing; on south side of path? N

How wide was the path of destruction? 50 Yards

What amount of damage was sustained in your vicinity? (Loss of buildings, household effects, livestock, farm implements, etc., but not crops, closely estimated.) roof of house, apple trees, two old barns and other trees Not more than $3000

How many people were killed? 0; how many injured? 0

(Signature) FVJ-

Mr. J. S. Ruffin
Cedar Hill, Tenn.

DEAR SIR:

Reports received at this office indicate that a storm occurred in your vicinity on June 17, 1934. The Weather Bureau desires to obtain reliable information respecting the details of all storms, and to this end I will thank you to furnish, at your earliest convenience, the information called for below as far as practicable.

If you are not personally prepared to give the desired information, kindly hand this letter to some one who may have knowledge of the occurrence.

If no storm occurred in your immediate vicinity on the date indicated, please so state.

Kindly return this paper in the inclosed envelope, which requires no postage.

Very respectfully,
R. M. Williamson.

Newspaper clippings will help.

Place where storm occurred, Cedar Hill, Robertson Co., Tennessee.

Date and hour of storm, From 2 P.M. 17th. to 3 A.M. 18th.

Direction of movement; it came from the North-east to south-west.

Width of the path of the storm, Heaviest rain 8 to 10 miles.

Degree of damage: None, considerable, or severe, Considerable.

Loss of crops (estimated), $50.000 to $75.000 in this county. 10% to 15% of growing crop ruined.

Other losses, Culverts, small bridges and fences washed out. $100.000

Mr. G. L. Morris the best posted farm in the county estimates loss to crops not less than $150.000

(Signature) J. F. Ruffin

(Address) Cedar Hill, Tenn.

(Date) 6/24/34

June 25, 1934.

Mr. R.M. Williamson,
Meteorologist,
Nashville, Tenn.

My Dear Sir:

Refering [sic] to my special report of damage to crops from the heavy rainfall of the 17th.

I talked to two farmers yesterday who had been over most of the county during the week. These are inteligent [sic], coservative [sic] men. Both agreed that $150.000 was a low estimate of the damage to crops. And that $100.000 would hardly cover the loss in the washing of the land, loss of bridges and other damages.

Tinnon B. Corbin had 25 acres of corn in a bottom on Sulphur Form Creek. The corn was about waist high and had just been "laid by". Twenty acres was either washed away or covered with mud making the 20 acres a total loss. A farmer living on a spring branch had four acres of corn with all the top soil washrd [sic] away. Tobacco in bottom lands was cover [sic] in water for three to four days. Instances like these were over most of the western section of the country. There was but little damage fron [sic] wind.

The storm came from the north-east and covered a section over five miles wide for about 20 miles. From what I can learn there was no part of the western section that did not have as much as 8 inches of rain fall.

Very respectfully,
/s/
J. F. Ruffin,
Local Observer.