Tornadoes ripped across Tennessee as families slept early Tuesday, shredding more than 140 buildings and burying people in piles of rubble and wrecked basements. At least 22 people were killed, some before they could even get out of bed, authorities said.
About 156 people have been hospitalized after first responders pulled them from the rubble of their homes. Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift led celebrity tributes to the residents of Tennessee. Parton shared a video on Twitter, telling Tennesseans: ‘You’re being thought of and we love you.’
Sirens and cellphone alerts sounded, but the twisters that struck in the hours after midnight moved so quickly that many people in their path could not flee to safer areas.
‘It hit so fast, a lot of folks didn’t have time to take shelter,’ Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter said. ‘Many of these folks were sleeping.’
Early findings by National Weather Service (NWS) survey teams indicated that the damage just east of Nashville was inflicted by a tornado of at least EF-3 intensity, the agency said.
One twister wrecked homes and businesses across a 10-mile stretch of Nashville that included parts of downtown. It smashed more than three dozen buildings, including destroying the tower and stained glass of a historic church.
Another tornado damaged more than 100 structures along a two-mile path of destruction in Putnam County, wiping some homes from their foundations and depositing the wreckage far away.
The devastation prompted officials to declare a state of emergency. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency declared a level three state of emergency for Tennessee.
Daybreak revealed landscapes littered with blown-down walls and roofs, snapped power lines and huge broken trees, making many city streets and rural roads impassable. About 43,000 were still without power as of Tuesday afternoon.
Schools, courts, transit lines and an airport were closed. More than a dozen polling stations were also damaged, forcing Super Tuesday voters to wait in long lines at alternative sites.
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Tornadoes ripped across Tennessee as families slept early Tuesday, shredding more than 140 buildings and burying people in piles of rubble and wrecked basements. At least 22 people were killed, some before they could even get out of bed, authorities said
Residents look over damage in their neighborhood in the Germantown are of Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday
A man views damage in an alley behind Woodland Street after a tornado touched down in Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday
Workers look over damage in their neighborhood in the Germantown are of Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday
These images show the damage of the East End United Methodist Church after it was struck by a tornado and what it looked like before
The storm system wreaked havoc on the John Tune Airport in West Nashville. Photos showed the severe damage of several small planes at the airport
‘Last night was a reminder about how fragile life is,’ Nashville Mayor John Cooper said at a Tuesday morning news conference.
The death toll jumped from seven to 22 on Tuesday, Tennessee Emergency Management Spokeswoman Maggie Hannan said, after police and fire crews spent hours pulling survivors and bodies from wrecked buildings.
It’s possible the death toll could continue to climb as authorities survey the landscape.
Putnam Sheriff Eddie Farris said only 30 per cent of the disaster area had a ‘hard check’ by mid-day.
‘A lot of these homes had basements and we’re hopeful there are still people down in there,’ he said.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee also said ‘a number of people’ are still missing.
‘It is heartbreaking. We have had loss of life all across the state,’ Lee said. The governor ordered all non-essential state workers to stay home Tuesday before going up in a helicopter to survey the damage.
Lee didn’t give a specific count on the unaccounted-for individuals but he did say that 30 rescue workers have suffered injuries while searching for victims.
Schools, courts and transit lines were closed, and some damaged polling stations were moved only hours before Super Tuesday voting was set to begin.
Residents of the historic Germantown neighborhood walked around in dismay as emergency crews closed off roads.
‘In the interest of safety we are asking all non-essential employees in the Nashville area to remain home today and use their best judgment,’ Lee said.
‘We have activated the State Emergency Operations Center and are engaged with emergency and local officials throughout the affected areas. Please join Maria and me in praying for the victims, their families, and all those tragically affected by this storm.’
This small jet suffered less damage then several others around it at the John Tune Airport in West Nashville
Some of the planes on the tarmac were severely damaged by the more than 155mph winds that moved through the area
The tornadoes left a trail of devastation as it passed through Camden, Cookeville and Mt Juliet. Downtown Nashville was also severely damaged
President Donald Trump tweeted his support for the state Tuesday morning.
‘Prayers for all of those affected by the devastating tornadoes in Tennessee. We will continue to monitor the developments. The Federal Government is with you all of the way during this difficult time.’
During his speech at the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference on Tuesday, the president said: ‘Before I begin I want to send my warm wishes to the great people of Tennessee.’
‘I’ll be going there Friday. Our hearts are full of sorrow for the lives that were lost,’ he added.
The tornadoes were spawned by a line of severe storms that stretched from Alabama into western Pennsylvania.
In Nashville, the twister’s path was mostly north and east of the heart of downtown, sparing many of its biggest tourism draws — the honky tonks of Broadway, the Grand Ole Opry House, the storied Ryman Auditorium, and the convention center.
Instead the storm tore through areas transformed by a recent building boom. Germantown and East Nashville are two of the city’s trendiest neighborhoods, with restaurants, music venues, high-end apartment complexes and rising home prices threatening to drive out longtime residents.
‘The dogs started barking before the sirens went off, they knew what was coming,’ said Paula Wade, of East Nashville.
‘Then we heard the roar … Something made me just sit straight up in bed, and something came through the window right above my head. If I hadn’t moved, I would’ve gotten a face full of glass.’
Then she looked across the street and saw the damage at East End United Methodist Church.
‘It’s this beautiful Richardsonian Romanesque church; the bell tower is gone, the triptych window of Jesus the Good Shepherd that they just restored and put back up a few weeks ago is gone,’ she said.
Debris covers a car near after a tornado touched down at Donelson Christian Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday
A resident photographs damage after a tornado touched down on Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee
The landscape was littered with blown-down walls and roofs, snapped power lines and huge broken trees as people started to survey damage near their homes
A man walks through storm debris following a deadly tornado on Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee
A man makes his way through debris following one of the deadly tornadoes on Tuesday morning in Nashville, Tennessee
People are reflected in a mirror of a building destroyed by storms on Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee
Damaged U-Haul trucks sit on a sidewalk and the street following the deadly tornadoes in Nashville, Tennessee
Workers look over damage outside this Auto Zone in their neighborhood in the Germantown area of Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday. These images show the before and after of the Auto Zone
The building housing The Soda Parlor and Clean Juice in East Nashville’s Five Points neighborhood was destroyed in the tornado that hit the city on Tuesday
The pool at Vista Germantown apartment complex shows damage after a tornado hit Nashville on Tuesday
Wade immediately recalled how a tornado damaged her own St Ann’s Episcopal church down the street in 1998.
‘I had no idea that I still had some PTSD from that other experience so long ago, but the sound of the sirens, that low sound, there’s just nothing like it,’ she said. ‘To look out and see the church, its just heartbreaking. It brings out everything that happened to St Ann’s.’
Tuesday’s tornado system was the third to rip threw downtown Nashville. According to the NWS, the previous two twisters occurred in the city in 1933 and 1998.
The ‘March 3, 2020 Nashville Tornado had a path near but not quite exactly like the tornadoes of April 16, 1998 & March 14, 1933,’ the service said.
Both the 1998 and 1933 tornadoes hit during the afternoon while Tuesday’s occurred just after midnight.
On Super Tuesday in February 2008, Nashville residents fell victim to a night time system that caused damage across Middle Tennessee during a tornado outbreak.
The roof came crashing down on Ronald Baldwin and Harry Nahay in bedroom of the one-story brick home they share in East Nashville. ‘We couldn’t get out,’ said Baldwin. ‘And so I just kept kicking and kicking until we finally made a hole.’
Homes collapsed on some residents, forcing first responders from local police and fire stations to work in the middle of the night to free them
Bill and Shirley Wallace were rescued from the rubble of their home shortly after the tornado destroyed their residence
Rescue workers were seen freeing the couple from their Barrett Drive home that collapsed on them. Bill Wallace is seen reaching out to rescuers following the tornado
Shirley Wallace (being carried by a first responder) was taken to a local hospital for medical attention after she was rescued
Also in East Nashville, the roaring wind woke Evan and Carlie Peters, but they had no time to reach the relative safety of an interior bathroom.
‘Within about 10 seconds, the house started shaking,’ Carlie Peters said. ‘I jumped on top of the ground; he jumped on top of me. The ceiling landed on top of him. … we’re grateful to be alive.’
Rescue workers were seen freeing a couple from their Barrett Drive home that collapsed on them overnight.
Bill and Shirley Wallace became trapped under rubble during the tornado. Shirley was taken to a local hospital for medical attention.
Actor Scott Baio tweeted that he was worried about his in-laws who live in Nashville, Tennessee.
‘OMG! We haven’t been able to make any contact with my in laws or my brother in law. Only Renee’s younger sister Brandy, and a cousin. Please pray for our family and the Nashville area,’ Baio tweeted early Tuesday morning.
Baio later followed that tweet up with another that reads: ‘A lot of property loss & damage at Tuckers Crossroads where my in laws live. We JUST heard, by text message, they’re alive!
‘No power & now the cleanup begins. Thanks for the prayers & kind words. Middle Tennessee needs a lot of prayers for the community right now.’
Aerial footage showed buildings and homes that were destroyed when the tornado tore through the Nashville Metro Area.
Roofs had been torn off apartment buildings, large trees uprooted and debris littered many sidewalks.
Walls were toppled, exposing living rooms and kitchens in damaged homes. Mangled power lines and broken trees came to rest on cars, streets and piles of rubble.
Terrifying footage showed lightening flashing across the sky and debris strewn across roads as the storm struck.
A reported gas leak forced an evacuation of the IMT building in the Germantown community, according to WSMV.
The National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed the tornado touched down in the early hours of this morning and warned residents to ‘take cover’.
The service tweeted: ‘Tornado still confirmed on the ground near Hermitage. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TORNADO! TAKE COVER NOW IN WILSON COUNTY!!!’
Videos emerged on social media showing lightening flashing across the sky and an apartment building gutted by high winds.
An apartment complex in Nashville was left heavily damaged and residents in the Germantown area of the city were evacuated from the building after the twister struck.
Images showed extensive damage to buildings, mangled wires on downed power lines and structures that are now unrecognizable as the tornado had reduced them to rubble.
One photo showed a white vinyl fence that had fallen a car. Another showed the roof and walls gone from a building that still had what appeared to be boxes stacked on shelves.
A witnesses of the Nashville tornado said it was a ‘rough night in Germantown’ as the twister went straight overhead.
One video posted online from east Nashville showed what appeared to be a well-defined tornado moving quickly across the city.
The whirl of the wind could be heard gusting after the tornado moved out of sight in the clip.
Photos showed dozens of people in the street carrying their belongings outside the IMT building not long after the tornado moved through the city.
Police released aerial images of what remained after the tornadoes hit Nashville. Some homes were ripped to shreds while others remained intact
Damage is seen in an aerial picture after a tornado touched down in eastern Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday
A hangar was ripped apart at the John Tune Airport (left) while the roofs of buildings and other structures were torn off (right)
A home in Cookeville, Tennessee, was destroyed by high winds from one of several tornadoes that tore through the state overnight
Another home was damaged by high winds from one of several tornadoes that tore through the state overnight on Tuesday
Crews work to clear roadways of debris caused by one of the tornadoes that tore through the state overnight in Cookeville, Tennessee
People look over buildings destroyed by storms on Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee. These images show the before and after of the area that shows several severely damaged businesses
A man walks past storm the Boom Bozz pizza restaurant that was severely damaged during the storms on Tuesday
Nashville Fire Department are responding to reports of at least 140 building collapses around the city and warned residents to stay away from downed power lines and storm debris.
‘Our community has been impacted significantly,’ the Mt Juliet Police Department tweeted early on Tuesday. ‘We continue to search for injured. Stay home if you can.’
Captain Chandler said in a Facebook video: ‘Our community has been greatly impacted by a tornado.
‘There are multiple homes damaged and multiple people injured. Our officers are in the early stages of this response and we continue to assess what is happening.
John C. Tune Airport, Nashville International’s sister airport in West Nashville, ‘sustained significant damage due to severe weather’, spokeswoman Kim Gerlock said in a statement.
According to authorities, before the overnight tornado struck Germantown and East Nashville, it made a direct hit on the airport.
Several hangars have been destroyed and power lines are down. Photos showed several small planes that were torn apart by the twister as well as larger jets that suffered damage.
Gerlock asked that the public avoid the airport until further notice and that the Airport Authority has activated its Emergency Operations Center to coordinate response.
The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down near downtown Nashville on Tuesday. Pictured is lightening flashing across the sky in the early hours of this morning
A house on North Mt Juliet road was destroyed after a tornado ripped through neighborhoods in Mt Juliet, Tennessee on Tuesday
Debris scattered across the parking lot of a damaged apartment building after the tornado hit Nashville in the early hours
Donelson Christian Academy suffered heavy damage when the deadly tornado plowed through Nashville on Tuesday. These images shows the academy’s high school gymnasium
Rubble and debris is seen scattered across the parking lot at Donelson Christian Academy after a deadly tornado plowed through Nashville on Tuesday
The building housing Burger Up in East Nashville’s Five Points neighborhood was destroyed in the tornado
Damaged vehicles and buildings seen in East Nashville after a tornado hit the city in the early morning hours of Tuesday
A resident making her way down Underwood Street in Nashville, Tennessee, amidst downed trees and heavy debris today
Mt Juliet Police Department said many homes had been damaged and multiple people had been injured and trapped in buildings by the storm.
‘There are multiple homes damaged, multiple people injured, multiple people still trapped. We need your help.’
He added: ‘There are gas lines that are leaking, power lines that are on the ground, and multiple emergency responders are responding to those who are injured and trying to get them the help that they need.
‘We appreciate your concern, your prayers. Continue to pray for our first responders and those that are injured and we will continue to keep you updated.’
Authorities said the two people who were killed in Davidson County were ‘struck by debris on McFerrin Street’.
‘An adult female victim died at the scene. An adult male victim died after arriving at a local hospital. We are working on confirming their identities,’ police said on Twitter.
Serious damage was caused in many parts of town including Germantown, where some of the worst damage to homes and businesses were seen.
The live music venue Basement East ‘sustained significant damage’, but all staff working inside weren’t injured, the venue said on social media.
Residents watching on as emergency crews attend to a tornado damaged apartment building on Jefferson Street in Nashville
A police car in front of the Music City Cleaners that was destroyed in Nashville, Tennessee, early Tuesday morning
The Geist restaurant brick wall collapsed during the tornado that touched down in downtown Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday
A mural on the heavily damaged The Basement East in the East Nashville neighborhood today in Nashville, Tennessee
A man walking by a storm damaged pickup truck covered in branches on Underwood Street today in Nashville, Tennessee
Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift lead celebrity tributes to victims in Tennessee
Music icon, Dolly Parton, led celebrity tributes to the residents of Tennessee as Carrie Underwood revealed that her husband had to get their sons to safety when two tornadoes ripped through the state, killing 22 and hospitalizing more than 150 others.
The Tennessee native voiced her support for her home state in a video shared on her Twitter page.
‘We had a lot of damage out in our area. I know a lot of Nashville was just devastated with the storms,’ she began.
‘I just wanted all of you to know that we are all with you and hope that your families are okay and your properties are going to be able to get mended pretty soon.
Music icon, Dolly Parton, led celebrity tributes to the residents of Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday afternoon just hours after deadly tornadoes ripped through the city, killing 22 and hospitalizing more than 150 others
‘But just wanted you to know you’re being thought of and we love you… To those that really lost family members, sorry about that and our prayers are with you.’
Other celebrities such as Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood also took to Twitter to share their thoughts over the devastation left behind by the storms.
‘My heart is with everyone in Tennessee who has been affected by the tornadoes. Sending you my love and prayers,’ Swift said.
Miley Cyrus also tweeted about the devastation: ‘Thinking about my home and family in Nashville and how fortunate I am that my place and loved ones have remained safe in these deadly tornadoes.
Other celebrities such as Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood also took to Twitter to share their thoughts over the devastation left behind by the storms. Underwood (pictured) also shared that her husband had to get their children to safety during the tornadoes
‘My heart is broken for my home state. So much loss and damage. We are #NashvilleStrong and will rebuild together!’ Cyrus added.
Tim McGraw tweeted about some of the murals that were destroyed in the tornadoes.
‘The iconic “I Believe In Nashville” murals started popping up after the big flood ten years ago. It’s stood as a symbol of resilience and togetherness.
‘We are heartbroken for our community after last nights tragic tornado, but know that together we will rise up and rebuild again!’ McGraw wrote.
Carrie Underwood, who is in New York City to promote her new book, also tweeted: ‘Sending my love to Nashville! I am praying for all of those affected by the terrible storm.’
She shared that her husband, Mike Fisher, had to get their sons five-year-old Isaiah and one-year-old Jacob to safety.
‘I’m like texting people I know, and I’m like asking my husband if everybody’s good,’ Underwood told TODAY.
‘He said he had to go upstairs at like 2am and grab the boys and take them down to a little safe room in our house.
‘I was like, “I bet everybody is crying.” It’s 2am, freaking out, so it was scary.’
Several country singers and other celebrities immediately tweeted their support for Nashville.
‘The iconic “I Believe In Nashville” murals started popping up after the big flood ten years ago. It’s stood as a symbol of resilience and togetherness. We are heartbroken for our community after last nights tragic tornado, but know that together we will rise up and rebuild again!’ Tim McGraw wrote.
Blake Shelton tweeted: ‘Thinking about you #Nashville. Stay strong!!!’
Miley Cyrus, who is from Tennessee, shared: ‘Thinking about my home and family in Nashville and how fortunate I am that my place and loved ones have remained safe in these deadly tornadoes. My heart is broken for my home state. So much loss and damage. We are #NashvilleStrong and will rebuild together!’
Two tornado warnings in Putnam County, east of Nashville, were reported. The NWS said the tornadoes were confirmed on radar.
County Mayor Randy Porter told CNN in a Facebook message that Putnam County saw ‘several critically injured’ people.
Metro Nashville Public Schools closed schools on Tuesday because of the tornado damage. Wilson County, just east of metro Nashville closed schools for the rest of the week.
The disaster also impacted voting in Tennessee, one of 14 Super Tuesday states. Some polling sites in Nashville were moved, and polls in Davidson and Wilson counties were opening an hour late but still closing at 8pm Eastern, Secretary of State Tre Hargett announced.
Vehicles passing by damaged buildings on Jefferson Street after a tornado passed through the area in Nashville, Tennessee
A tornado that ripped through Nashville overnight downed power lines and toppled trees in the Donelson area on Tuesday
Jeff Roberts of the Elections Commission said in a statement earlier today that information about damage to polling stations is being collected.
Any voter in Davidson County whose assigned precinct has been impacted may vote at the Election Commission Offices, the statement said.
Meanwhile, heavy rain is expected to impact Gulf Coast states over the next several days. The rains will bring the potential for flash flooding in several southern states, forecasters said.
Rainfall on Tuesday is expected to saturate the soil in Alabama, setting the stage for possible flash flooding by mid-week, the NWS said. Up to six inches of rain is possible from this week’s expected rains in Alabama.
Isolated severe storms will be possible from east Texas to the Carolinas on Monday, according to the National Storm Prediction Center in Normal, Oklahoma.
Northern Mississippi, eastern Arkansas and west Tennessee are among areas where severe storms will be most likely.
Spring storms will bring snow from western mountains across the country as the Gulf Coast states get hit with heavy rain
. The rains will bring the potential for flash flooding in several southern states, forecasters said. Rainfall on Tuesday is expected to saturate the soil in Alabama, setting the stage for possible flash flooding by mid-week, the NWS said. Up to six inches of rain is possible from this week’s expected rains in Alabama
Isolated severe storms will be possible from east Texas to the Carolinas on Monday, according to the National Storm Prediction Center in Normal, Oklahoma
Early morning storms also damaged homes and toppled trees in rural central Alabama, where the National Weather Service (NWS) reported winds up to 60mph and issued tornado warnings for at least five counties.
In rural Bibb County southwest of Birmingham, seven poll workers were getting ready to open the doors to Super Tuesday voters at the Lawley Senior Activity Center when cellphone alerts began going off with a tornado warning about 6.45am, said volunteer Gwen Thompson.
‘Our children were calling too, telling us, “Get in the bathroom!”‘ she said. ‘We all got in the bathroom and we’re OK, but lots of trees are down.’
The storm knocked out electricity, Thompson said, but the precinct’s two electronic voting machines had battery backups and a few people had cast ballots less than an hour later.
‘We’ve been voting by flashlight,’ Thompson said.
Northern and central Georgia could see up to five inches of rain from showers and storms Monday through Thursday, forecaster said.
In Mississippi, some flash flooding is expected Tuesday night through Wednesday night, the weather service said.
The Sierra Nevada Mountains in California have already been covered in a foot of snow
At least four people are dead in Wyoming and dozens injured in a pileup that happened amid blowing snow overnight
Over 50 gauges in the south are already above flood level but more could be triggered as south of the Mississippi Valley and south of the Interstate 20 braces for two to five inches of rainfall.
But the culmination of days-long rain in the south poses danger for the likes of Houston, New Orleans and the Florida Panhandle by Wednesday. Residents in the south have been warned to look out for hail stones the size of softballs and more potentially deadly tornadoes.
Other places have already seen severe weather this week like the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California and the Rockies in Wyoming, which are covered in a foot of snow.
At least four people were killed in Wyoming and dozens more injured in a pileup that happened amid blowing snow.
The wreck happened in snowy, blustery weather Sunday on Interstate 80 about 180 miles west of Cheyenne.
About 30 people were taken to the emergency room at Memorial Hospital of Carbon County in the small city of Rawlins.
Officials at the 25-bed hospital called in in three extra doctors and set up a temporary patient holding area in a cafeteria.
Forecasters predicted snow driven by wind up to 50mph would continue to affect travel until Tuesday.