Much of Middle Tennessee is drying out this morning, following a wave of severe thunderstorms.
Anna and Roger Saterstrom inspect Richland Creek near their Nashville home. Photo courtesy Debra Preitkis-Jones
The National Weather Service says more than two inches of rain fell in Nashville, from yesterday afternoon through this morning. Nearly six inches fell near the Fairview community in Williamson County.
On a walk with his wife this morning near Nashville’s Richland Creek, Roger Saterstrom found debris pushed far outside the usual banks.
“You can imagine what that must have been just a few hours ago, but then receded again very quickly.”
The storms produced near non-stop lightning. NewsChannel 5 reports that a lightning strike is being blamed for a church fire in Donelson. Firefighters were able to quickly put out the blaze on the church’s steeple, but the sanctuary suffered heavy water damage.
Video from WPLN’s Bradley George, showing lightning over Downtown Nashville.
In Portland, strong winds nearly ripped the roof of a factory that makes metal chain.
The storms disrupted travel at Nashville International Airport. Many flights were delayed. A United Airlines flight from Newark had to divert to Huntsville, where passengers spent the night.
Widespread power outages were also reported. NES says about 3,300 of its customers remain in the dark.
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