84 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW MAECH 1933
TORNADO AT NASHVILLE,
By R. M.
[Weather Bureau OfBca, N
About 7:30 p.m. of Tuesday, March 14, 1933, Nash-
ville was visited by a rather severe tornado, undoubtedly the worst storm in its history and certainly the most
damaging. The day had been warm, the maximum tem-
erature reaching 80' a t 3 p.m. It was as high as 76" as fate as 6:30 p.m. At that time a thunderstorm was ap- proaching from the southwest, five tenths of cumulo-
nimbus clouds being observed and the first thunder heard a t 6:45 p.m.
An extensive area of low pressure, with two centers, occupied the E:istern States a t 7 a.m. of the 14th (central standard time). This was a fairly good type of V-shaped
depression, with a decided southwest-northeast trend.
One center was over the Great Lakes and the other over western Arkansas and southern Missouri, the lowest pressure in the latter area being 29.56 inches titt Fort
Smith, Ark. At 4 p.m. the southern portion of the depression was long and narrow, extending from Mei,iphis
Tenn., to Columbus, Ohio, being wedged in between high
pressure areas in the southeast and in the northwest. At the p.m. observntion the trough extended from Nash- ville, Tenn., to Parkersburg, W.Va., both points regis-
tering the same pressure, 29.62 inches. There probably was slightly lower pressure a t the Lexington, Ky., station,
where it is indicated on the Washington weather map
that the center was located a t 7 p.m. The tornado struck Nashville 45 minutes after the above barometer rending was made. It therefore occurred in the south-
east quadrant of the depression, and somewhat ahead of the wind-shift line a t the surface.
The wind direction liad been southwest most of the afternoon, becoming south-southwest at 6 p.m. and south
a t 6:50 p.m. Here it remained until 7:lS pm., when the cippronching thunderstorm brought the usiial shift
to an easterly direction (in this case, southenst). For about 10 minutes the wind blew from the southeast. Suddenly a t 7:28 p.m. the wind veered from southeast
to southwest, remaining so for 1 minute, and a t 7:30
p.m. it was blowing from the west. The wind velocity a t 7:20 pm. was a t the rate of 15 miles per hour; the
velocity increased to 27 miles per hour a t 7:26 p m ., 47
miles per hour a t 7:27 p.m., and 65 miles per hour a t
7:28 p.m. This was the extreme velocity a t the ststion. For the 5-minute period beginning a t 7 :26 p.m. the aver-
age velocity was 50 miles per hour. During the minute of blow from the southwest, the tornado was pnssing just
north of the station, the right side of the pttth of destruc-
tion being only about 400 feet away. After the passing of the storm the wind direction was west for 15 minutes,
northwest for 20 minutes, west-southwest for 15 minutes,
and finally northwest for the remainder of the night. Large hailstones preceded the arrival of the tornado
by several minutes and hetivy rainfall began with the shift of wind to the west. The temperature dropped
from 75' a t 7:30 p.m. to 61' a t 8 p.m., due to cooling caused by the thunderstorm. The temperature then remained nearly station:iry for about 1 hour. From 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. there was a further drop of 10' to 51'.
This was the result of the progress eastward of the high-
pressure cold-weather area, following the permanent
shift of the wind to the northwest. In other words, the thunderstorm and the tornado were running ahead of the
cold northwest blast a t the surface about 1 hour. The torniido wasYnotfIcoincident with but preceded the real
wind shift:line by about 1 hour.
TENN., ON MARCH 14, 1933
WILLIAMSON
ashville. Tenn., Apr. I, 19331
As the thunderstorm neared the station the barograph
trace was falling with fair speed. About 7:30 p.m. it
droppe,d suddenly 0.12 inch a.nd immediately recovered 0.15 inch. This was during the passing of the tornado.
The rise in pressure cont>inued for probably 20 minutes,
when there was another slight fall, la,sting about 15 to 20 minutes. This second drop in pressure, after the thunder-
storm had passed, was just prior to the permanent shift of wind from west-southwest to northwest a t which time
a steady rise in the bzlrometer began.
Assistant Meteorologist Foster V. Jones, who wa.s on
duty a t the Weat,her Burem office until 7 p.m. and who
later observed the approac,hing storm from his home a t De1mn.s Avenue and Gallat'in Pike, ltbout three fourths
mile north of the tornado's path, described its appearance
as follows: "The tornado cloud was first observed while
watching the unusual hail which fell prior to the storm.
The cloud approaching from :i westerly direction appeared like a huge inverted cone moving rapidly nc.ross a light-
colored background of rain, looking very muc,h similar to
a. shadow moving across a motion-picture screen." The usual row, ns of 1% freight train thundering dong ttt high
spee.d, was atte.sted by many. The path of the storm across the city was approxi-
mately east-northeast. It first appeared in west Nash-
ville in the vicinity of Charlotte Pike and Fifty-first
Avenue, about 4 miles from the public square. So far
as known, this was the point of origin of the storm.
From that vicinity to the public square moderate clanmge
occurred here and there, such as tree,s broken off and a
few malls down. Upon reaching Capitol Hill it caused
the breaking of a few windows in t,he State Capitol
Building and then descended upon the bidldings on the north and east sides of the public squa,re wit,h terrific fury.
The path here was probably not over 200 yards wide but the destruction was great. Some 15 or more brick
business houses, ranging from 3 to 5 stories high, were affected. The top stones of some of the buildings on the
east side of the squn.re had both t,he west and the east
ends blown out, the main port,ion of the roof remaining int,act,. Several on the north side of the square were
alniost completely demolished. Proc,eeding thence across
Cumberland River the st'orm widened to about 400 yards
and partially wrecked a row of 4-story factory buildings along First Street, and greatly damaged another large
brick building, occupied by the Nat,ional Casket Co., at
Second and Woodland Streets. Large sections of brick
wall a foot or more in thickness gave way to the pressure.
From this point, for a distance of 3 miles it t,ore through
a district of residences, churches, schools, and stmore houses, the width of the path ranging from 600 to SO0
yards.
The total length of the path across the city was about
8 miles, but the storm's track can be traced through
Davidson County, Wilson County, and into Smith Count,y, a total distance of about 40 miles. Mr. Jones
followed the course of the storm for several miles east of
the city, and has the following t)o say regarding its path:
Taking a map of the city of Nashville and considering the greateat
destruction as the center of the path i t is found that the tornado was traveling easterly at an angle ranging from 20" to 30" nort,h of east in the city proper, but describing a very slight arc to the south
as i t advanced beyond the city limits and across Davidson County into Wilson County. It crossed the Davidson County line near
Tulip Grove, thence moved eastwsrd through Lebanon t o the Smith County line, apparently epending itself within Smith County.
MARCH 1933 MONTHLY mEATHER REVIEW 85
The width of the path is very irregular, varying from one city block near the center of Nashville t o slightly over a mile a t a point 8 milefi east of the city, then narrowing t o only a hundred yards or
bo within a verj short distance. St Lehanou the path w:ts about
200 yards wide. The wider the path, the less destruction, in all
cases. At the widebt poiut the destruction was confined largely t o the topping of trees, although some hui!dings near the center of the area esploded due to the decrease in pressure.
It was decided that only one tornadii occurred in the countie, named; and that it was a true funnel type tornado cloud, traveling in an easterly direction approximately 35 miles an hour, pulsating
earthward with the apes swinging perpendicularly across the path.
Evidences of tornadic action were so plain and so 1111-
rnerous that no one questioned the true nature of tlie storm. A 2- by 4-inch tiniber was driven endwise into tlie east
slope of the roof of the writer’s home, clearly the result of a counterclockwise wind blowing into n vortex. At
inany places in tlie beautifully wooded portions of East Nashville uprooted trees along the outer edges of the whirl, of which there were hundreds, lay prac tically a t
right angles to the direction of tlie storni’s path and
toward the center. Hundreds of buildings showed the explosive effect of tlie storn-roofs lifted ancl w.alls blown
outward. Many of these were completely demolislied.
Frame structures succiimberl to tlie fury of the storni ninre readily tlian brick and stone, but the latter were
by no means spared. Wreclmge of many large brick buildings occurred and the claninqe WRS grea t. Notable
among such examples were the brick buildings nn the square and those just across the river, already referred
to, the new East Nashville High School, where the rooE of the large gyninasiuin WYDS lifted of?, and tlie new Eniley High School, which was more than half wrecked. I t wtis
observed that walls or roofs inclosing large roo~iis almost invariably gave way first under the unusual pressure, such
pressure exerting full force against the outer inclosures instead of being divided by inside partitions. Nunibrrs
of persons in the storm area esperimced difficulty in liear-
ing ancl suffered discomfort in. their ears for several days
after the storm, due to the suddenly reduced pressnrc..
The tornado killed 11 persons in Nashville and injured scores of others. The sninll loss of life mas one of its
remarkable features, considering the fnct that it traversed mi area occupied by about 10,000 persons. Tlie property
damnge included 1,400 homes, of which 1,100 were frame structures and 300 brick or stone; also 1 G churches, 36
stores, 5 factories, 4 scliools, 1 library, and 1 lodge hall.
Some of the best residences of East, Nashville were among tlie damaged list. The property loss within the city, exclusive of trees, automobiles, and other personal
property, was estimated a t $1,450,000, and in the suburbs
$150,000. Loss of personal property is estimated a t
$-ln0,000. This tornado killed four persons in Lebanon
and caused property damage of about $125,000. Its totnl loss of life was 15 persons and tlie total property
loss probrtlby $2,200,000.
The writer, who was near the center of tlie storm’s path on Eastland Avenue, fortuiiately (for him) did not attempt to observe the storm’s approach, for a look out
a rear door or window might have cost him his life. Dur- ing the terrifying half minute when wnlls, roofs, chimneys,
gnrages, m d trees were crashing only a few yards away and his own house was quivering under the pressure and
wis partially demolished, lie and his family were in the
front of the house and were unharmed, in spite of a feeling
of intense expectancy. Numbers of his neighbors,
however, were less fortunate. Sonie were cruslled in the
\:-reclrage and others were blown out with the walls,
landing in acljoiiiing yards. If it were possible to beep doors :md windows open during such a blow, relieving
somewhat the inside pressure, the walls and roof of a
building niiglit not suffer, but the contents, including the
occupants themselves, would be sucked into the open and made targets for flying debris.
hIany interesting and frenkish things occurred, the following being observed by the writer:
A corn stalk was found driven endwise through a piece of weather boarding.
A 2- by 4-inch timber plunged through a panel door
u iilioiit cnusing the slightest splitting or splintering.
Tlie timber fit the opening perfectly. A 1- by 6-inch plank was forced through the trunk of n
sturdy young tree, splitting the tree in half.
9 high-tension tower was bent to the ground in a tangled
niiiss without breaking loose from its concrete nioorings.
It) is iiot believed that this tornado was as violent as
m i n y t1i:it hive occurred in other States, nor even in Tennessee for that matter, else the loss of life mcl property
would liai-e been much greater. Its significance lies in
the fnct that i t pierced the heart of one of our large cities.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
C. FITZHUGH TALMAN, in Charge of Library
RECENT ADDITIONS
The following have been selected from anioiig the titlcs
of hooks recently received as representing those iiiost
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Ball lightniug. p. 6!3-72. 25% cm. (Amer. mcrcury. v. 26.
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New instrument for measuring cooling power: the coolometer.
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Wel-and-dry bulb hygrometer; the relation to theory of the experimentd researches of Awbery and Griffiths. Cam-
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