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Middle Tennessee Assesses Damage After Night Of Violent Storms

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downed trees at University Court
Metro Office of Emergency Managementvia Twitter
High winds toppled trees in the Napier Homes south of downtown Nashville on Thursday afternoon.
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Violent storms tossed trashcans and trampolines last night as a second round of severe weather whipped through Middle Tennessee.

It’s not clear yet whether any tornadoes touched down in Tennessee last night, but there was plenty of damage left in the wake of a powerful line of storms which produced multiple tornado warnings.

Trees were snapped or uprooted, taking down power lines and turning out the lights on thousands of residents. Sheds lost their roofs and a few windows were blown out.

The National Weather Service issued multiple tornado warnings for parts of Williamson, Rutherford and Wilson counties. But so far, there have been no reports of serious injuries.

Forecasters say more severe weather could be on the way this weekend, with “at least small potential for damaging winds, large hail, flooding, and isolated tornadoes.” But the storms are not expected to be as severe as Thursday’s.

Forecasters had warned for days that those conditions were right for severe weather. And earlier in the afternoon, a fast-moving cell streaked from Franklin north to Sumner County, pounding residents with quarter-sized hail and high winds.

The tornado warnings didn’t start popping until after dark. Meteorologists will be in the field this morning looking for evidence of twisters.

Earlier in the afternoon, most of the focus in Nashville was on the speed of the first line of storm cells and the large hailstones that pounded various parts of town. But winds also did damage, peeling off the roof of a bus depot and shifting a house in South Nashville off its foundation.

When the evening storms came through, more trees were toppled, taking out additional powerlines and leaving thousands in the dark. This morning, nearly 3,000 Nashville Electric Service customers are still without power.

 

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