Nashville became the first major city in nearly 20 years to have an F2 or stronger tornado make a direct hit in the downtown area.

12 people were killed by tornadoes during the outbreak: two in Arkansas, three in Kentucky, and seven in Tennessee (one in Nashville, three in Wayne County, and three more elsewhere).

A very strong low pressure system developed across the central part of North America and was associated with a long cold front.

Ahead of the storm, the warm moist air generated from the Gulf of Mexico increased the likelihood for a significant weather event.

[citation needed] On April 16, as the main low-pressure system was near the Great Lakes and its cold front crossing the Mississippi River, dew points reached the mid to upper 60s across the Tennessee Valley while later in the day, CAPE values reached 1600 J/kg while dry air intrusion was also on the rise increasing the threat of severe weather across the area.

As the bulk of the supercells moved out of Arkansas, the tornadic activity was slower during the morning hours before re-intensifying west of Nashville early in the afternoon.

Major tornadoes struck from southern Tennessee to southern Kentucky with additional storms as far north as Michigan and several other storms in Alabama across Walker and Cullman Counties, which was slightly north of the areas that were hardest hit by the previous outbreak.

[citation needed] This tornado, rated F3, touched down near the intersection of Charlotte Pike and Forty-Sixth Avenue and traveled directly through downtown Nashville.

The tornado manifested itself as a large area of rapidly rotating rain curtains and dark clouds, rather than a traditional funnel.

After crossing the Cumberland River, it passed through East Nashville, Donelson, and Hermitage before finally lifting northwest of Lebanon in extreme northern Wilson County.

An ROTC student from Vanderbilt University was trapped under a fallen tree in Centennial Park and later died from his injuries.

However, many large and well-built homes with anchor bolts were completely leveled with some swept clean from their foundations, and vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards.

The damage from the hail was so great that it seemed to overshadow the F3 tornado event happening in the southern part of the county, which was more rural.

The tornado then would pass just south of downtown Glasgow and cross the Cumberland Parkway just west of the Barren/Metcalfe county line.