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Preliminary results released from Middle Tennessee tornado

The National Weather Service in Nashville continues to perform surveys following Tuesday morning’s deadly tornadoes

Emergency personnel work among destroyed homes Tuesday, March 3, 2020, near Cookeville, Tenn. Tornadoes ripped across Tennessee early Tuesday, shredding more than 140 buildings and burying people in piles of rubble and wrecked basements. At least 22 people were killed. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) (Mark Humphrey, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

NASHVILLE, Tn. – As of Tuesday night, the death toll from the storms in Middle Tennessee rose to 25 with still many reported missing. The storm, while obviously intense, hit at at the worst possible time and in a heavily-populated area of the Volunteer State. Many were asleep, with some having no way of getting severe weather information during that time.

Meteorologist Justin McKee dove into how this storm developed in a previous article posted by 10 News.

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While surveying is still being conducted by the National Weather Service in Nashville, preliminary results were released Tuesday evening. At least EF-3 damage was observed in parts of the Music City and surrounding areas like Donelson and Mt. Juliet. EF-2 damage was observed by the John C. Tune airport, as well as Germantown/North Nashville.

At least EF-3 damage was observed along part of the surveyed path

They tweeted that this wasn’t indicative of the actual number of tornadoes, but rather the damage that was seen along their survey path. They’re still working to see if this was all one long-track tornado, or if there were indeed multiple.

Rotation tracks plotted within our graphics system show a large swath of strong rotation from the storm that rode along a boundary (warm front) that was draped over middle Tennessee early Tuesday morning.

Rotation tracks from Tuesday morning show the path of the storm that killed more than two dozen in middle TN

With a track that long, it’s going to take some time for these preliminary results to become finalized. The National Weather Service in Nashville has said that storm surveying in Wilson and Davidson Counties will continue Wednesday, with another storm survey to come in Putnam County once it becomes safe to do so.

If you want to donate to victims of the tornadoes, God’s Pit Crew is preparing to send blessing buckets to affected areas. To learn more, click here.


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