Some participants recognized that about half of their tornadoes happened at night, but many others believed that either few or all twisters struck after dark. In a 2019 study with social science collaborators, we surveyed over 1,800 Tennessee residents about their perceptions of local tornado climatology. Nighttime events, as well as those outside of the spring season, are common in this region because the ingredients for storms are different from those that occur in the area of the central and southern Plains typically called вЂњ Tornado Alley.вЂќ Tornadoes in Tennessee and the Southeast region are unique, in that a relatively large proportion of tornadoes occur at night. Video of the tornado that touched down north of downtown Nashville on March 3, 2020.

As extreme events unfold, we see these intersections play out in real time, just as we did in this recent disaster. We analyze data to tell a story about hazards posed by local climatic conditions, and the publicвЂ™s perception of and preparation for those hazards. We are hazardous weather climatologists working in and researching the climate of middle and east Tennessee. Nearly half of tornadoes that occur here strike when the sun is down. But for Tennessee residents, it is a regular and terrifying reality. Dozens more people are still missing.ДЇor many Americans, the thought of an overnight tornado is just a nightmare. At least 18 of those victims were located at the end of the stormвЂ™s path. Preliminary damage assessments estimate that the most intense portion of this storm produced a strong EF3 tornado, with winds up to 165 miles per hour.ДЄt the time of this writing, 25 people are confirmed dead. Another tornado formed from the same system shortly afterward, near Cookeville.

During the hours after midnight on March 3, 2020, tragedy struck middle Tennessee when a tornado ripped through the region, traveling over 50 miles from West Nashville to near Gordonsville.

Nash severe wx