Audio clip
David Glenn
A spate of Wednesday evening thunderstorms that could have brought tornadoes were the precursor to nice weather today that will last until Saturday, forecasters said.
But the weather also was a warning of what’s to come. Spring, with its mix of cool and warm temperatures, brings conditions that are just right for tornados, meteorologists warn.
“For the first day of spring (today) we’re going to be a little cool,” said David Glenn, chief meteorologist for WTVC News-Channel 9. “We’ll have the sunshine back and temperatures are going to feel cooler because of a fairly brisk northwest wind, and night temperatures are going to be down in the mid and upper 30s.”
Wednesday’s bad weather came and went without much fuss in Hamilton County. Mr. Glenn said there were reports of downed trees in Hixson and some golfball-sized hail, but otherwise the storm system had passed by 7 p.m. without destruction, he said.
The National Weather Service in Morristown, Tenn., had issued a tornado watch until about 9 p.m. Wednesday. Earlier in the day, a swath of rain doused the area. The evening storm system brought the potential for tornados as the temperatures rose and mixed with cooler winds.
“The prime time for tornados is March, April and early May, so we’re right now into the heart of it,” Mr. Glenn said. “When temperatures start to warm, you can still get that collision of cooler air masses.”
Wednesday’s bad weather was pushed through the area by a cold front that is supposed to lower temperatures today. But Howard Waldron, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Morristown, Tenn., said temperatures should peak in the high 50s with a brisk 5 mph wind and sunny conditions.
That trend will continue until Saturday when there could be a chance for rain. Easter Sunday could be a cool one, Mr. Glenn said. Temperatures are predicted to cap out at 58 degrees.
SPRING IS HERE
Today is the first day of spring, a date that is determined by the position of the sun over the equator. The equinox occurs when the center of the sun can be observed to be directly above the Earth’s equator, occurring around March 20 and Sept. 23 each year.
On the Web
Visit the National Weather Service at www.srh.noaa.gov.
Adam Crisp covers education issues for the Times Free Press. He joined the paper's staff in 2007 and initially covered crime, public safety, courts and general assignment topics. Prior to Chattanooga, Crisp was a crime reporter at the Savannah Morning News and has been a reporter and editor at community newspapers in southeast Georgia. In college, he led his student paper to a first-place general excellence award from the Georgia College Press Association. He earned ...
