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5 Tornadoes Confirmed In Middle Tennessee

Posted at 11:13 AM, Mar 01, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-02 16:28:14-05

Portions of Middle Tennessee were hit hard Wednesday morning as three tornadoes moved through the area.

Tornado Warnings began popping up around 7 a.m. as the storm moved into Davidson and Williamson counties.

According to the National Weather Service in Nashville two EF1 tornadoes hit Middle Tennessee Wednesday morning.

The first one hit Williamson County just north of downtown Franklin. Its path extended from Fieldstone Park to Cool Springs Galleria.

The SunTrust Bank on Galleria Boulevard sustained heavy damage. Debris was seen scattered all along the parking lot.

The second tornado hit Davidson County. Its path extended west of Cane Ridge Park to southeast Davidson County to Four Corners Marina on Percy Priest Lake, where there was extensive damage.

Several boats were damaged and the roof of the dock and boat slips looked to be a mangled mess.

Watertown in Wilson County saw the third EF-1 tornado.

On Thursday, the National Weather Service confirmed the fourth and fifth tornadoes, which both happened in Putnam County and were also classified as EF-1.

At one point, Nashville Electric Service was reporting more than 17,000 people without power. MTEMC reported more than 9,000 outages during the storm’s peak. 

MORE: Severe Storms Prompt Tornado Warnings

In Clarksville, 12-year-old Francisco Chaparro-Rojas and two others were hurt when a tree fell on his family’s home on Riley Road. At least two people were taken to an area hospital. 

"I was able to move around and find a hole to get out and my older brother was trapped on this side so he got out through the porch and we got out through the back door,” said he said.

Several homes were damaged in Wilson County as one of the three tornadoes touched down. Trees and power lines were blown down.

People in Watertown also saw significant damage. Shannon Ervin barely escaped from her office at the Wilson County Sanitation Center before the storm blew it away.

She ran from the small shed that served as her office to get in her truck and park it behind a sturdy wall.

"I was so scared. I had my head down and my eyes closed and white knuckling and praying as hard as I could," said Ervin.

The shed was blown from its foundation and tossed across the parking lot. It was left in barely one piece. She said she would have been seriously injured had she not escaped when she did.

"I would have been in critical condition or I wouldn't have made it," said Ervin

Of all the storms throughout Middle Tennessee, no critical injuries have been reported.