Six dead after tornadoes rip through Tennessee
Nashville-area officials were working to recover on Sunday after at least six people were killed and dozens injured after tornadoes touched down around Nashville, causing severe damage and leaving tens of thousands without power.
“Yesterday was unfortunately another heartbreaking day for Nashville and so many in our middle Tennessee community,” Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said during a news conference. He added that 22 structures had collapsed and “countless others have sustained significant damage.”
About 18,000 people in the Nashville area were without power, said Teresa Broyles-Aplin, president and CEO of Nashville Electric Service. “We expect some of those outages will be prolonged,” she said, adding that it could be days before power is restored due to the severity of the damage.
The severe thunderstorms that spawned the tornadoes erupted ahead of an intense cold front that stretched from Michigan through western Tennessee and into eastern Texas. Ahead of the front, abnormally warm and humid air — as much as 20 degrees higher than average for this time of year — surged northward, helping to fuel the storms.
The hardest-hit areas appeared to be Clarksville, Tenn., and the northern side of Nashville. A child and two adults were killed in Clarksville, the city’s mayor said, and the Nashville Emergency Operation Center reported three people were killed by severe storms there.
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About 100 families from Fort Campbell, near Clarksville, lost their homes in the storm, the garrison commander said Sunday morning. “We’re working with all of the community leaders and unit leadership to ensure that those families are taken care of,” Col. Christopher Midberry said.
“This is devastating news and our hearts are broken for the families of those who lost loved ones,” said Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts, who declared a state of emergency and enacted a 9 p.m. curfew for Saturday and Sunday night. “The city stands ready to help them in their time of grief.”
Share this articleShareOfficials did not have any updates on the number of deaths from the storm as of Sunday afternoon.
The National Weather Service said in a preliminary report Sunday that the storm that hit the Clarksville area was rated an EF-3 on the 0-to-5 scale used for tornado intensity, with estimated peak winds of 150 mph. The storm on the northern side of Nashville was rated an EF-2, with estimated peak winds of 125 mph.
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Photos from the Clarksville Fire Rescue showed at least two homes with their front facades and roofs torn off, a tractor-trailer truck that had been flipped onto its side and rescue workers scouring neighborhoods for people trapped or injured. Northeast of Nashville, utility poles, trees and power lines were downed in the city of Gallatin, while buildings were at least partially collapsed in parts of neighboring Hendersonville.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) directed the public Saturday night to follow guidance from local and state officials. “We mourn the lives lost,” he said in a social media post.
Through 8:30 p.m. Eastern, the National Weather Service had received about 75 reports of severe weather from northern Louisiana to southern Kentucky. But most of the severe weather was concentrated in western and central Tennessee, including 15 reports of tornadoes. The Weather Service said that as of 10 p.m., the severe weather threat had ended for all of middle Tennessee. Other tornadoes hit Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
The same front is now over the East Coast. Flood watches stretch from Virginia to Maine, with winter storm warnings for the interior Northeast, where a plowable amount of snow is likely.
Pradnya Joshi and Matthew Cappucci contributed to this report.
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