Strong to severe thunderstorms are expected tonight. Damaging winds, large hail, and lightning will be the main threats with the storms. (Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown)
A tornado watch has been issued for Anderson County until 4 a.m. Saturday. In addition to Anderson County, the watch applies to other nearby East Tennessee counties, including Blount, Campbell, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, Roane, Scott, and Union.
The tornado watch was issued by the National Weather Service in Morristown at 8 p.m. Friday.
A tornado warning has been issued for the areas west of Roane County, between Cookeville and Crossville in Middle Tennessee. Crossville is about 90 minutes west of Oak Ridge and Cookeville is farther west.
The National Weather Service in Morristown said strong to severe thunderstorms are expected Friday night. Damaging winds, large hail, and lightning will be the main threats from the storms, forecasters said.
At 9:55 p.m. Friday, a severe thunderstorm was located 10 miles east of LaFollette, moving southeast at 55 mph, the National Weather Service said. Hazards from that storm include 60 mph wind gusts and penny size hail. LaFollette is north of Oak Ridge in Campbell County.
“Expect damage to roofs, siding, and trees,” the NWS said.
Locations affected could include, in Anderson County, Clinton, Lake City, Norris, and Andersonville.
“For your protection, move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building,” the National Weather Service said.
Intense lightning was reported in a band that included Karns, Powell, and Halls east and northeast of Oak Ridge at about 10:20 p.m. Friday.
WBIR-TV in Knoxville is carrying live weather updates, as of 10:25 p.m. Friday.
See the seven-day forecast for Oak Ridge here.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, contributors, and subscribers. This is a free story. Thank you to our advertisers, contributors, and subscribers.
Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.
Copyright 2018 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Leave a Reply