2 dead, 3 injured in weather event with 'possible tornado,' officials in Tennessee say
WARTBURG, Tenn. (AP) — Two people were killed in eastern Tennessee when severe storms with a possible tornado moved through the region, local officials said Friday.
A mother and daughter from the same household were killed when the storm passed through the Deer Lodge and Sunbright areas of Morgan County on Thursday night, according to a social media post by the county emergency management agency.
Three other injuries were also reported, officials said.
Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers were on site Friday morning helping to secure structures that were damaged or destroyed, Capt. Stacey Heatherly said in an email. Officials didn't believe anyone was still missing, Heatherly said.
The National Weather Service office in Morristown said teams were being sent to survey storm damage in the Deer Lodge area of Morgan County and the Thorn Hill area of Grainger County on Friday.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol said on social media that troopers were in Morgan County ensuring resident safety and assessing and helping with structure damage.
The Morgan County School District said on its website that schools would be closed Friday because of “significant damage from tornadoes in parts of our county.”
Additionally, the storm downed trees and damaged several structures in the Thorn Hill area of Grainger County, but there were no injuries or deaths there, county Emergency Management Director Jeffrey Atkins said by telephone. County schools opened two hours late on Friday.
Emergency officials have repeatedly said that Tennessee experiences more tornadoes at night than any other state in the U.S. This makes it difficult to warn the public, which likely is asleep and can’t see the storms coming.
According to the National Weather Service, Tennessee experienced 19 tornadoes last year that resulted in one death. In 2023, Tennessee saw 40 tornadoes that resulted in 17 deaths. While the majority of Tennessee's tornado activity takes place in the spring, it's not unusual for the number of tornadoes to start increasing in February.
Meanwhile, snow hit New England roads hard, with more than 60 crashes reported on Maine highways. Maine State Police had not reported serious injuries as of Thursday night. But the arrival of some of the worst snow during the commuting hour made for treacherous roads throughout the state.
Roads in other states were also snarled. A tractor-trailer overturned on the Massachusetts Turnpike, snarling traffic in that state.
The New England states were getting ready for a potential repeat this weekend, as an even stronger storm was expected to arrive late Saturday into Sunday.
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