Storm damage in Birchwood area from overnight
UPDATE: The National Weather Service has determined that an EF0 tornado struck the Birchwood and Georgetown areas of northeastern Hamilton County.
They say the tornado had winds of 75 m.p.h. as it uprooted trees and power lines along with causing minor building damage.
The first tornado warning for Hamilton County was issued shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday morning.
In the span of the next hour, a line of storms pushed through with strong winds.
Those who live in the Georgetown area say they heard nature’s full fury.
David Shelton, a witness to the tornado, said, “I heard the tones go off as I was sitting there watching TV. All at once I heard it, and I jumped up and headed to the bedroom, it scared the tar out of me.”
The tornado warned storm led to widespread damage in the area of Grasshopper Road and Bettis Road a few miles southwest of the junction of Highways 58 and 60 including many downed trees and power lines.
First responders from numerous agencies descended on the scene to clean up debris and check on residents in the area.
They had to shut off access to Bettis and Grasshopper Roads as they were impassable for several hours due to trees and power lines on the roads.
The Sheltons say they hadn’t had the ability yet to check for damages on their property but heard about what their neighbors endured.
David Shelton said, “Across the road here he had a bunch of buildings blown away. Yeah, one neighbor had the roof gone, and one neighbor had the garage gone, and like I said, he lost three to four buildings over here.”
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
BIRCHWOOD, Tenn. (WDEF) – A storm assessment team from the National Weather Service is in the Birchwood area of northern Hamilton County to assess damage from overnight storms.
They will determine if it was caused by a tornado or straight-line winds.
The storm hit the area around 1:30 AM, bringing down trees and power lines.
Emergency Management officials report a few storage buildings and cars were damaged by fallen trees.
No injuries have been reported.
