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Hi All, March and April were very eventful weather months across the state. We're starting to work through April data but below are the highlights for March. March continued the pattern of extremes in weather that Tennessee has seen in 2025, with high winds and fires, record-setting rainfall, and severe storms impacting the state. Several small to moderate sized grass, brush, and forest fires popped up around the state driven by days with high winds and low relative humidity in early March. One of the largest fires was in Sevier County, where the Pittman Center/Webb Mountain fire burned over 1,000 acres before being fully contained. In Monroe County, several fires burned an area of 267 acres and an emergency shelter was opened in Tellico Plains where 15 people spent the night on March 4th-5th before the fires were contained and evacuation orders lifted. The high winds that helped to spread the fires also led to some structure damage and downed trees, especially in the mountains of East Tennessee. A week later, other fires just south of Chattanooga in Georgia led to an air quality alert issued for the city and surrounding areas, as smoke from the fires drifted north into Tennessee. The Tennessee National Guard assisted with the response to this fire, using helicopters to dump water on the fires from the nearby Tennessee River. Severe storms and heavy rains swept across Tennessee and the Southeast on March 15th. The NOAA Storm Prediction Center issued a rare High-Risk Outlook (risk level 5 of 5 for severe storms) on March 15th for parts of Alabama and Mississippi, with parts of Tennessee included in the Moderate Risk outlook area (risk level 4 of 5). Tennessee saw 2 tornadoes, 29 reports of severe-thunderstorm wind damage, and 6 reports of hail 1-inch or larger. This system also brought heavy rainfall across most areas of Tennessee with several daily and even monthly rainfall records set in central parts of the state. March wrapped up with more severe storms including 4 reported tornados, 14 reports of severe thunderstorm wind damage, and 15 reports of hail 1-inch or larger in diameter on March 30th. Maury County was hit by two tornadoes, one an EF2 in the Hampshire area and one an EF 1 in the Mt. Pleasant area. There was also an EF1 tornado in Humphreys County and an EF0 tornado at the Hickman/Williamson County line near Fairview. Check out more in the attached summary. Andrew & Wil Tennessee Climate Office East Tennessee State University Department of Geosciences 310 Ross Hall Johnson City, TN 37614

Publication Date

3-2025

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