After seven straight days of no measurable rainfall, Nashville and Middle Tennessee are facing some strong to severe storms overnight.
The National Weather Service expects strong storms to move through Nashville and Middle Tennessee throughout the night, threatening strong winds, heavy rain and a possible tornado.
"This morning has turned out to be pleasantly cool, but temperatures will warm quickly with most spots expected to reach the low to mid 90s by afternoon," the National Weather Service said Aug. 19. "Heat indices are likely to reach the low 100s, mainly in areas west of I-65, but should stay below heat advisory criteria."
As we move into the evening hours, numerous storms will slide across the region overnight and into the next morning,
the weather service said.
Storms are expected to begin developing by late this evening & last into early Thursday. Areas around Clarksville, Wavery & Dover stand to be the most impacted. The primary risks are strong to severe winds & heavy rain. There is also a very low threat of large hail & tornadoes. pic.twitter.com/YZKWLCiiKZ
— NWS Nashville (@NWSNashville) August 19, 2026
Nashville, Franklin and Murfreesboro are considered to be marginal risks for severe weather. The main threat will be to the region around Clarksville, Waverly and the northwestern corner of the state.
"Because of this jet, our main hazard is damaging winds, but heavy rainfall is also a threat," the weather service said, noting some areas could get upwards of 2 inches of rain. "Storm mode with this threat looks to be clusters of storms, but some supercells cannot be ruled out (our tornado threat is very low)."
The storm front will continue to move east by mid-afternoon Aug. 20, leaving Middle Tennessee with drier air and temperatures in the mid 80s to low 90s, the weather service said.
In the long term, there might be more rain in the forecast but it's not expected to be as significant as the threat Aug. 19.
"These rain chances look to be fairly isolated, thankfully, and the pattern turns dry for the weekend," the weather service said. "Into the beginning of the work week, we remain in Northwest flow aloft, which looks to bring in isolated rain chances through mid-week. Temperatures will remain in the upper 80s to low 90s through the forecast period."
Nashville weather radar
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: After days without rain, Nashville, Middle TN expect severe storms
