Situated in the center of middle Tennessee on the Cumberland River, Nashville is rimmed on three sides by an escarpment rising three to four hundred feet. The city ranks with Houston, Texas, and Los Angeles, California, as one of the nation's largest cities in terms of area. Nashville's climate is moderate, with seasonal variation rarely lapsing into temperature extremes. Its humidity is also considered moderate for the Southeast. Precipitation is heaviest in winter and early spring, though when it falls in the form of snow it is seldom disruptive. Thunderstorms in Nashville are moderately frequent from March through September. Tornados occur occasionally, such as one in 1933 and more recently in 1998; the 1998 tornado caused property damages in excess of $100 million.
Area: 473 square miles (Nashville-Davidson) (2000)
Elevation: 550 feet above sea level
Average Temperatures: January, 38.7° F; July, 79.4° F; average annual temperature, 59.5° F
Average Annual Precipitation: 48.0 inches