Two tornadoes that carved into Clarksville-area neighborhoods Saturday night were 150 and 300 yards wide, and they stretched a total of 9 miles.
National Weather Service officials, as well as state and local Emergency Management Agency crews, were on the ground Saturday around Clarksville assessing the damage.
Meteorologist James LaRosa said the tornadoes that touched down in Dotsonville and Rossview came from the same storm cell, and they even spawned another tornado in Adams in Robertson County.
“We were tracking the storm well west of Clarksville, so there was pretty good lead warning,” LaRosa said.
The tornadoes’ path
A severe thunderstorm/tornado watch was issued for Montgomery County around 8 p.m. The watch was upgraded at 8:29 p.m. to a warning, which means a tornado might be on the ground.
The first tornado, an EF1 with winds up to 105 mph, touched down at 8:50 p.m. two miles west of Clarksville, and it stayed on the ground for about seven minutes. It covered five miles and was 150 yards wide.
LaRosa said a second tornado warning was issued at 8:57 p.m. for Montgomery and Robertson counties.
The storm continued moving northeast at 55 mph for about seven miles before again touching down at 9:03 p.m. as an EF-2 with 125 mph peak winds. It remained on the ground for five minutes, covering four miles at 300 yards wide.
Another tornado touched down at 9:20 p.m. in northwestern Robertson County. LaRosa said the damage survey has not been completed for that tornado, so details were not available.
“It’s not unusual for a tornado to lift back up and touch down again several miles away,” he said.
Prior to the storm cell that ripped across Montgomery County, a tornado touched down at 3:53 p.m. in Robertson County near the Kentucky border.
“It touched down on the Tennessee side, less than a half mile from the border. It really intensified after it crossed into Kentucky,” LaRosa said. “There was a lot of tree damage, and a barn was damaged.”
The tornado continued across Logan County, Ky., and killed an elderly woman in her home.
Residential damage
Totals for the number of homes damaged by the tornado in Montgomery County Sunday night have risen.
Preliminary estimates are that 78 houses and duplexes were damaged. Another eight were destroyed, according to Sandra Brandon, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman.
The Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency, office along with Montgomery County Building & Codes, Montgomery County Assessor’s Office, TEMA, and Austin Peay GIS Center were to conduct damage assessments Monday, Brandon said in a news release.
“Officials are still completing site surveys,” Brandon said. “So the number may go up.”
Emergency Management Interim Director Ed Baggett said one team would visit the Farmington subdivision and another would go to Deepwoods in Dotsonville.
They’ll determine how many structures were affected, have minor damage, have major damages or were destroyed.
Volunteer efforts will likely continue as well.
“We will be evaluating the need for a possible organized cleanup this coming weekend,” she said. “Those interested in volunteering should call the Emergency Operations Center at 931-553-5162 and leave their contact information.
Few injuries
At least three people were taken to hospitals with injuries, although none appeared life-threatening, Baggett said Monday.
Two of those were in a home in Farmington that was destroyed. Both were taken to Tennova Health Care, and the man was later taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
A GoFundMe page set up by the family said the man had a punctured and collapsed lung, a broken clavicle in three places and broken ribs, but that he was recovering Monday afternoon.
A 15-year-old girl on Austin Peay State University’s campus was also taken to Tennova Healthcare after she was hit by debris that fell from the Dunn Center roof when the building was struck by lightning.
Their names were not released and their conditions were not available on Monday.
Another four were treated by EMS in Farmington but were not taken to hospitals, said EMS Director Jimmie Edwards.
“We feel lucky and grateful that no lives were lost,” he said.
(Stephanie Ingersoll and Chris Smith contributed to this report.)
by Mark Hicks, USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee
February 26, 2018
