Tornadoes, high winds move through Middle Tennessee overnight

Tornadoes, high winds move through Middle Tennessee overnight Middle Tennessee and much of the mid-South are under a threat for severe weather Friday night into Saturday morning, the NWS said. Tornadoes in Hendersonville and Mount Juliet were confirmed as a wall of storms hit Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee early Saturday. Wind gusts also reached record highs of 78 mph at Nashville International Airport at 3:30 a.m., according to the National Weather Service. Tornado is crossing Lebanon Road near Mount Juliet Road in northern Mount Juliet, National Weather Service Nashville said in a tweet at 3:40 a.m. amid widespread emergency warnings to seek safe shelter. The Mount Juliet Fire Department reported roof damage. Police received structural damage reports on Nolensville Pike, Fairview Drive and other areas across the region. Kentucky Gov. Beshear declared a state of emergency following major tornado damage causing 50 deaths, according to early reports. He called it he most significant tornado event in Kentucky"s history, in an early morning briefing. Two deaths were reported in northwest Tennessee"s Lake County and a third in Obion County, according to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. One person died in an Arkansas nursing home on Friday when the building collapsed. Tornado warning until 4:45 a.m. for Clay and Jackson counties. Severe thunderstorm warning for Overton, Pickett, Smith, Jackson, Eastern Wilson, Clay, Macon, southeastern Trousdale, northwest Fentress, northwest Putnam counties until 4:45 a.m. Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Davidson; Rutherford; Smith; Sumner; Trousdale; Williamson and Wilson counties until 4:15 a.m. There is a tornado watch until 5 a.m. for Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Lawrence, Lewis, Macon, Maury, Montgomery, Perry, Robertson, Rutherford, Stewart, Sumner, Trousdale, Wayne, Williamson and Wilson counties. The tornado watch extends from parts of Mississippi through Kentucky to southern Indiana. NWS Nashville said the watch includes a threat of scattered storms until 2 a.m. They are also expecting a line of storms, with the potential for tornadoes, to hit Middle Tennessee early Saturday morning likely between 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. NWS Nashville reported a tornado crossed Lebanon Road near Mount Juliet Road in northern Mount Juliet. Radar-confirmed tornadoes with tornado debris signatures moved through Hendersonville and Mount Juliet. A tornado with a tornado debris signature crossed Highway 46 between Dickson and Interstate 40, moving into Burns. Cheatham County dispatch reported damages in the Pegram area, around Highway 70. There were reports of houses blown off their foundations in the area, and crews were conducting a rescue, a dispatcher confirmed just past 4 a.m. Winds at Nashville International Airport gusted to 68 knots or 78 mph, one of the highest measured wind gusts ever at the airport, according to NWS Nashville. At 4 a.m., Nashville Electric Service reported more than 86,000 outages. Dickson Electric had more that 16,000 without power in Dickson, Cheatham, Hickman and Williamson counties. The storms are part of a larger system stretching from the lower Ohio Valley to the lower Mississippi Valley, according to the Storm Prediction Center. Fifty deaths were reported in Arkansas as Gov. Andy Beshear issued a state of emergency, calling it the most significant storm in the state"s history. Late Friday, in Monette, Arkansas, a city about an hour north of Memphis, a nursing home roof collapsed, at least two died and injuring five. A state of emergency for the area was issued. The roof of an Amazon warehouse collapsed in southern Illinois storms, reportedly causing injuries. There were also several reports of tornadoes in the Midwest and Kentucky. Clarksville, Waverly, Nashville, Franklin and Columbia are under an enhanced risk (level 3 of 5) for severe weather, the forecast shows. Murfreesboro and Shelbyville are under a slight risk (level 2) and the eastern part of the region is under a marginal risk (level 1). Do not focus too much on what color/number you are in, NWS Nashville said. All of Middle TN could see severe weather. NWS Nashville said the main line of severe storms is expected to pass through Clarksville and Waverly from 12 a.m. to 4 a.m., then onto Nashville, Columbia and Tullahoma between 3 a.m. and 8 a.m. The eastern part of the region, including Crossville, will see the main threat of severe storms from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. But don"t rely entirely on estimated arrival times, forecasters cautioned. Times are still highly uncertain and could be earlier or later by a few hours, NWS Nashville tweeted.


()