May 10-11, 2016 Severe Storms & Flash Flooding

Radar rainfall estimates

Overview

Numerous severe thunderstorms, including supercells with a few tornadoes, developed across western and central Kentucky during the afternoon hours on May 10. These supercell thunderstorms eventually spread southeast into northern Middle Tennessee late in the evening on May 10 and continued through the morning on May 11. Dozens of reports of large hail as big as the size of tennis balls was reported, along with scattered areas of wind damage. These thunderstorms began training along a northwest-to-southeast oriented boundary early Wednesday morning, and with ample moisture available in the atmosphere, these storms were able to produce significant rainfall amounts and flash flooding.

The highest rainfall amounts fell across Sumner, Macon, Trousdale, Smith, and Wilson Counties, which received radar estimated totals and measured amounts ranging from 3" up to 7" of rain (see MRMS radar estimated rainfall map above). The heaviest rainfall amounts fell across northern Sumner County, where 6.21 inches was measured at a CoCoRaHS site 4.5 miles northwest of Bethpage, TN. Numerous homes and businesses were flooded by the heavy rainfall, mainly from northern Sumner county into Macon, Trousdale, and northern Smith Counties, and a large number of roads were closed or washed out due to the flooding. Dozens of water rescues were also conducted across these same areas to rescue people from flooded vehicles and homes.

Rainfall Totals 5/10/16 - 5/11/16
LOCATION	COUNTY	AMOUNT	SOURCE
Bethpage 4.5 NW	Sumner	6.21"	CoCoRaHS
Westmoreland 3.8 WSW	Sumner	5.12"	CoCoRaHS
Hartsville 6.5 SE	Smith	4.27"	CoCoRaHS
Mount Juliet 4.0 SE	Wilson	3.69"	CoCoRaHS
Carthage 8.7 NNE	Smith	3.20"	CoCoRaHS
Hermitage 2.6 E	Davidson	3.16"	CoCoRaHS
Mount Juliet 2.9 WSW	Wilson	3.09"	CoCoRaHS
NWS Nashville	Wilson	3.00"	Official Obs
Nashville Int'l Airport	Davidson	0.02"	ASOS

Reports & Outlooks
SPC Storm Reports	SPC Event Archive	Local Storm Reports	CoCoRaHS Rainfall Reports

Large Hail

Tennis ball-size hail in Hermitage, TN (Davidson County) Photo by Adam Morlan	Golfball-size hail in Hermitage, TN (Davidson County) Photo by Cindy Shimanski

Flash Flooding

Flood Damage on Red Tuttle Road in Bethpage, TN (Sumner County) Photo by Pamela Barnes	Flooding in Bowmans Branch, TN (Smith County) Photo from @SmithCountyWx

Mount Juliet Microburst
Counties:	Wilson
Time:	11:42 PM CST
Estimated Peak Winds:	75 mph
Damage Path Length:	around 1 mile
Damage Path Width:	around 1 mile
Fatalities:	0
Injuries	0
Damage: A NWS storm survey determined a small but intense microburst struck the area around Old Lebanon Dirt Road and Chandler Road in western Mount Juliet. Dozens of trees were snapped or uprooted in a roughly 1 mile wide by 1 mile long area with a strong divergent pattern to the east and southeast. A few homes and a church suffered minor roof damage including loss of shingles. Radar estimated winds up to 75 mph, and damage was also consistent with a peak wind around 75 mph.
Radar:
NWS Nashville Storm Survey Photos: