WARTBURG, Tenn. — Moving through eastern Tennessee, a mother and daughter died and three other people injured, officials said.
A mother and daughter from the same household were killed when the storm passed through a densely populated community in Morgan County Deer Lodge and Sunbright on Thursday night, according to a social media post from the county’s Office of Emergency Management. .
Details about the three injured were not released immediately.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper was on the scene Friday morning to help secure the damaged or destroyed structure, Col. Stacey Heatherly said in an email. Authorities didn’t believe anyone was still missing, Heatherly said.
A preliminary storm investigation released at noon Friday found two tornados hit the area Thursday, according to the office of the National Weather Service in Morristown. The tornado at Deer Lodge in Morgan County was rated EF2 at 135 mph, the maximum wind. The tornado in Thornhill, Grainger County, had a maximum wind of 115 mph and received an EF1 rating.
Gov. Bill Lee said in a statement Friday that he and his wife, Maria, are praying for those affected by the storm. The governor pointed out that he traveled to Morgan County on Friday to investigate the damage and spoke to the man who lost his daughter and his home.
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“It’s hard to see these people and you see what they’re facing today,” Lee told reporters. “We are here to encourage them.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol said on social media that troopers are ensuring the safety of residents in Morgan County, assessing and assisting in structural damage.
The Morgan County School District said on its website that the school will be closed Friday due to “a major loss from tornadoes in some of our county.”
Additionally, the storm knocked down trees and damaged several structures in the Thornhill area of Grainger County, but there were no injuries or deaths, County Emergency Management Director Jeffrey Atkins said over the phone.
Thursday’s storm comes almost a year after a fatal tornado landed in areas in northeastern Tennessee, including Morgan County. The tornado damaged the house in the funeral home and the town of Sunbright.
Emergency officials have repeatedly said that Tennessee experiences more tornadoes at night than any other state in the US. This makes it difficult to warn the public. The public is asleep and cannot see the storm coming.
Officials with the Tennessee Department of Emergency Management added that other counties affected by the storm include Fentress, Jackson, Overton, Putnam and Sevier. Meanwhile, authorities continued to warn potential extreme weather in the South on Friday, with flood warnings issued in Arkansas, Kentucky and West Virginia.
Also on Friday, Kentucky and West Virginia communities continued to clean up from flooding in lowland areas caused by severe thunderstorms on Thursday. Some streams and rivers were slightly above the flood stage on Friday.
Tennessee experienced 19 tornadoes last year, resulting in one death, according to the National Weather Service. In 2023, Tennessee saw 40 tornadoes, resulting in 17 deaths. While most of the tornado activity in Tennessee takes place in the spring, it is not uncommon for tornado numbers to begin to increase in February.
Meanwhile, snow hit New England roads violently, reporting more than 60 crashes on Maine’s highways. Maine State Police had not reported any serious injuries as of Thursday night. However, some of the worst snow arrived during commute hours was made for dangerous roads throughout the state.
I’ve also been knocking over the roads of other states. A tractor trailer capsized on the Massachusetts Turnpike, backing up traffic in the state.
The New England state was preparing for a potential repetition this weekend as even stronger storms were expected to arrive late Saturday on Sunday.
