Content-Length: 120352 | pFad | https://www.weather.gov/mrx/March_30_31_Fire_Wind
adOverview
The Tennessee Valley and the Southern Appalachian region experienced high winds from the afternoon of Wednesday, March 30 through the afternoon of Thursday, March 31. The combination of high winds, dry ground (fuels), and low relative humidity produced a dangerous fire weather situation. Numerous wildfires started and quickly spread throughout East Tennessee and southwest Virginia as a result of these conditions. The most significant fire was at Hatcher Mountain near Wears Valley, TN, which prompted evacuations, burned over 3,000 acres, and damaged over 100 homes.
Photos & Video
Hatcher Mountain Aerial View (Courtesy TN Dept of Agriculture) |
Hatcher Mountain Aerial View (Courtesy TEMA) |
Wildfire Ground View (Courtesy THP Knoxville) |
Wildfire Ground View (Courtesy TN Dept of Agriculture) |
Wildfire Ground View (Courtesy THP) |
Damage from Wildfire (Courtesy TN Dept of Agriculture) |
Hatcher Mountain Fire
(Courtesy TN State Representative Jason Zachary)
|
Trees on Powerlines in Red Bank, TN
(Courtesy Nicolas Connally via Brian Smith WTVC-TV)
|
Satellite and Radar
Radar image showing the smoke plume of the Hatcher Mountain wildfire during the afternoon of Wednesday, March 30. Courtesy of Chris Michaels, WSLS Roanoke, VA. | The Hatcher Mountain wildfire was easily identified using the GOES satellite Fire Temperature product, depicted as the bright red area in Sevier County, just north of Wears Valley. This image is from around 4 pm on Wednesday, March 30. |
Storm Reports
Below is a spatial interpolation of maximum wind gusts via GIS followed by a text version of the reports.
GIS Spatial Interpolation of Maximum Wind Reports |
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 944 AM EDT THU MAR 31 2022 ..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON... ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... ..REMARKS.. 0315 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 3 N LAKE FOREST 35.97N 83.87W 03/31/2022 M47 MPH KNOX TN AWOS AWOS STATION KDKX KNOXVILLE DOWNTO. 0305 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 1 NNW ALCOA 35.81N 83.99W 03/31/2022 M64 MPH BLOUNT TN ASOS REPORTED AT KNOXVILLE AIRPORT. 0300 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 3 ESE WEARS VALLEY 35.70N 83.61W 03/31/2022 M85 MPH SEVIER TN MESONET PEAK WIND FROM GSMNP WIND TOWER AT COVE MOUNTAIN. 0255 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 2 NW MADISONVILLE 35.55N 84.38W 03/31/2022 M58 MPH MONROE TN AWOS REPORTED AT MONROE COUNTY AIRPORT. 0235 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 4 SSE ATHENS 35.40N 84.57W 03/31/2022 M48 MPH MCMINN TN AWOS AWOS STATION KMMI ATHENS. 0233 AM TSTM WND DMG 5 N BRAYTON 35.54N 85.20W 03/31/2022 BLEDSOE TN PUBLIC A FEW TREES DOWN. 0231 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 1 W LENOIR CITY 35.80N 84.30W 03/31/2022 E53 MPH LOUDON TN PUBLIC 0229 AM TSTM WND DMG 5 NE PALIO 35.53N 85.26W 03/31/2022 BLEDSOE TN PUBLIC A FEW TREES DOWN. 0215 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 2 ENE JACKSBORO 36.34N 84.16W 03/31/2022 M62 MPH CAMPBELL TN AWOS REPORTED AT CAMPBELL COUNTY AIRPORT. 0212 AM NON-TSTM WND DMG 1 NNE JELLICO 36.59N 84.12W 03/31/2022 CAMPBELL TN PUBLIC WIND BLEW A PORTION OF THE ROOF OFF A HOUSE. 0200 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 2 ENE CADES COVE 35.60N 83.78W 03/31/2022 M61 MPH BLOUNT TN MESONET PEAK WIND FROM GSMNP WIND TOWER AT CADES COVE. 0136 AM NON-TSTM WND GST TRI-CITY AIRPORT 36.48N 82.40W 03/31/2022 M45 MPH SULLIVAN TN ASOS ASOS STATION KTRI TRI-CITIES AIRPORT. 0135 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 3 W HARRISBURG 35.86N 83.53W 03/31/2022 M52 MPH SEVIER TN AWOS RECORDED AT THE SEVIER COUNTY AIRPORT. 0135 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 3 N ROCKWOOD 35.92N 84.68W 03/31/2022 M47 MPH MORGAN TN AWOS AWOS STATION KRKW ROCKWOOD. 0110 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 5 SW ONEIDA 36.46N 84.59W 03/31/2022 M47 MPH SCOTT TN AWOS MESONET STATION KSCX SCOTT MUNICIPAL AIRPORT. 1255 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 2 N CADES COVE 35.62N 83.81W 03/31/2022 M46 MPH BLOUNT TN MESONET MESONET STATION IGGT1 INDIAN GRAVE GAP (2 N CADES COVE). 1235 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 2 SW ANDREWS 35.18N 83.85W 03/31/2022 M45 MPH CHEROKEE NC AWOS AWOS STATION KRHP ANDREWS NC. 1140 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 1 SSW HUNTER 36.37N 82.17W 03/30/2022 M46 MPH CARTER TN AWOS AWOS STATION K0A9 ELIZABETHTON. 1135 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG 3 WSW ANDREWS 35.18N 83.87W 03/30/2022 CHEROKEE NC TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED BY TRAINED SPOTTER. STEEL OUTBUILDING BLOWN OVER AND DOWN A HILL. NO INJURIES REPORTED. REPORT VIA AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR KO4SBR. 1115 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 4 SE CHATTANOOGA 35.03N 85.20W 03/30/2022 M47 MPH HAMILTON TN ASOS ASOS STATION KCHA CHATTANOOGA AIRPORT. 1115 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 1 NE TASSO 35.22N 84.80W 03/30/2022 M45 MPH BRADLEY TN AWOS AWOS STATION KRZR CLEVELAND. 0600 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 2 NNE HAPPY VALLEY 35.64N 83.94W 03/30/2022 M77 MPH BLOUNT TN MESONET PEAK WIND FROM GSMNP WIND TOWER AT LOOK ROCK.
Environment
A strong upper trough moved across the midsection of the nation into the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys from Wednesday into Thursday morning. The strongest part of the upper jet was over the Mississippi Valley into the western sections of the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys where 300mb winds exceeded 140 knots. Strong forcing from this occurred across the Gulf Coast states and Tennessee Valley.
The deep and strong upper forcing produced rapid surface cyclogenesis over the Great Lake states. The strong pressure falls tightened the pressure gradient across the Ohio and Tennessee Valley, and southern Appalachians with 850mb low-level jet increasing to 75 kts.
Figure 1: 300mb Heights, Divergence, and Winds at 0500 UTC, 31 March 2022 | Figure 2: 500mb Heights and Winds (color shaded) at 0500 UTC, 31 March 2022 | Figure 3: 850mb Heights and Winds at 0500 UTC, 31 March 2022 |
The strong low-level jet of 75kts+ produced downsloping winds across the southern Appalachian Mountains. The anomalously strong low-level 850mb jet, combined with the tight pressure gradient over the area, produced a high-end Mountain Wave event across the far East Tennessee Mountains and Foothills.
The strong upper-level forcing helped induce strong surface cyclogenesis across the western Great Lakes into the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys. The tightening of the surface pressure gradient is evident across East Tennessee, especially in the mountains of the southern Appalachians.
The air mass across much of the southern Appalachians, especially East Tennessee, was quite dry with dew points in the 30s and 40s which produced relative humidity values in the 20s to lower 30s. The downslope compressional warming off the far east Tennessee Mountains intensified the dry and warm boundary layer environment.
Figure 4: 850mb Heights and Winds at 0500 UTC, 31 March 2022 | Figure 5: Surface MSL Pressure and surface wind at 0500 UTC, 31 March 2022 | Figure 6: Surface Dew Point (F), isobars, and wind at 0400 UTC, 31 March 2022 |
A warm, dry downslope wind is called a Foehn. Foehn wind onset can be accompanied by a very rapid temperature increase at the surface. The strong southerly winds rise over the higher elevations of the southern Appalachians. As the air rises, the moisture is squeezed out of the parcel of air, which leaves it very dry as it descends off the far East Tennessee Mountains into the Foothills. This dry air then sinks down the lee side of the mountains and warms adiabatically. The dry and warm air mass increases wildfire risk, and the very high wind speeds spread flames quickly across the landscape.
Figure 7: University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL sounding at 2100 UTC, 30 March 2022. | Figure 8: Terrain Map of the Southern Appalachians with Arrows Showing Southerly Winds Riding Up and Over the Mountains | Figure 9: Downslope Winds Infographic: Producing Warm, Dry, Gusty Winds on the Leeward Slopes of Mountains, Enhancing Fire Danger |
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