Oak Ridge Today

Storm knocked trees onto homes, woman reports possible lightning strike

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Tree on Delaware Avenue Home

A tree fell on a vacant Delaware Avenue home during a severe Monday night storm. (Photo by Brad Jones)

A strong storm that blew through Oak Ridge on Monday knocked two trees down onto homes. One fell onto a firefighter’s house and caused several thousand dollars worth of damage, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said.

Firefighters also responded to a call from a woman who called 911 and said she thought she had been struck by lightning during the 7 p.m. storm.

“Upon arrival, the fire department found her in the living room of her home complaining of chest pain,” Kerley said. “She stated she was standing looking out the window when lighting hit in front of her, and she began experiencing chest pain. She was transported to Methodist Medical Center for evaluation.” [Read more…]

Severe thunderstorms expected through this evening

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Severe Thunderstorms

Severe thunderstorms are expected across East Tennessee through this evening, with damaging winds and large hail possible. (Image courtesy of National Weather Service in Morristown.)

Severe thunderstorms are expected across East Tennessee through this evening, with damaging winds and large hail possible.

Localized flooding and isolated tornadoes are also possible, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown.

The forecast for Oak Ridge calls for showers and thunderstorms before midnight, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm, mainly after midnight. [Read more…]

Tornado watch, wind advisory issued for Anderson, Roane

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A tornado watch has been issued for 33 Tennessee counties, including Anderson, Campbell, Loudon, Knox, Morgan, Roane, Scott, and Union counties. The tornado watch remains in effect through 1 p.m. today.

The National Weather Service in Morristown has also issued a wind advisory through 9 p.m. today. The advisory said strong to damaging winds are possible across the southern Appalachians, including in Anderson, Knox, Roane, Scott, and Union counties. Damaging winds of more than 60 mph are possible.

Forecasters said severe thunderstorms are moving into the area ahead of a cold front this morning, with widespread damaging winds and isolated tornadoes possible. Widespread wind damage and tornadoes have been reported across western and middle Tennessee.

[Read more…]

Electric Department: Power restored in Oak Ridge

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Oak Ridge Electric Department Crew

An Oak Ridge Electric Department crew works late into the night after a violent storm Thursday. Above from right are ORED Crew Chief Aaron England, lineman Tom Lance, and apprentice lineman Mike Goodpasture.

All power has been restored, the Oak Ridge Electric Department reported about midnight Thursday, roughly six hours after violent storms roared through East Tennessee, causing widespread damage and power outages, and trapping visitors in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

In Oak Ridge, the city staff reported outages in Rarity Ridge and on Berwick Drive, Bear Creek and Berea roads, Warwick and Hoyt lanes, and Andover, Iris, and East Wadsworth circles.

Residents reported outages in other locations from West Outer Drive and Montana Avenue to Grove Center and Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Officials in the Oak Ridge Electric Department said they didn’t know how many customers lost power Thursday.

But a few hours after the storm, by 10:30 p.m., the Electric Department reported that only a few scattered small outages remained, and most, if not all of those, were due to fallen trees or branches.

Woodland Storm Damage

Oak Ridge Electric Department crews had to remove a tree limb that had fallen into power lines on South Purdue Avenue.

In Woodland around midnight, a three-man crew cut down a Bradford Pear tree limb that had fallen into a power line on South Purdue Avenue. Crew members had been working non-stop since about 6 p.m., when the ferocious storms blew south from the Ohio River Valley, bringing 70-mph winds and knocking out power to tens of thousands of customers in East Tennessee.

The city provided updates during the storm on Twitter. That Twitter feed is available at https://twitter.com/#!/corelectricdept.

Meanwhile, officials at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park confirmed that two people died during the storms.

 

Thunderstorms cause extensive power outages in Oak Ridge

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The storms sweeping through East Tennessee have caused extensive power outages in Oak Ridge, Electric Director Jack Suggs said Thursday evening.

However, Suggs is in Nashville until later tonight, and he said he couldn’t estimate how many residents have lost power, although the damage sounds very severe.

“Right now, I don’t know anything except we have a lot of problems,” Suggs said. “It’s not limited to any one section of town.”

Power was out along Oak Ridge Turnpike from at least Robertsville Road heading east to the Oak Ridge Mall, and there were reports of outages in other areas, including Grove Center, the Highland View neighborhood, the Central Services Complex, West Outer Drive, and New York and Jefferson avenues.

[Read more…]

Dangerous thunderstorms moving through East Tennessee

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The National Weather Service in Morristown has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for several counties in East Tennessee, including Anderson, Morgan, and Roane counties.

The warning remains in effect until 6:45 p.m. The storms are capable of producing quarter size hail and destructive winds with speeds that could exceed 70 mph.

Parts of Oak Ridge lost power Thursday evening, including an area around Oak Ridge Turnpike and Robertsville Road.

The National Weather Service said thunderstorms moving south from the Ohio River Valley this afternoon could produce damaging winds, heavy rainfall, and frequent lightning.

A severe thunderstorm watch remains in effect until 11 p.m. for southwest North Carolina and East Tennessee.