COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Cleanup continued Wednesday after rounds of severe weather moved through Middle Tennessee, prompting tornado warnings in Putnam County.
The National Weather Service confirmed Monday evening that an EF-1 tornado touched down in Cookeville and moved southeast from there.
Winds of nearly 110 mph took down structures, uprooted trees and scattered debris across the area.
One woman spoke with NewsChannel 5 and said she was forced to cling onto a church for support as the tornado moved through.
NWS officials said the hardest hit area was the Double Springs neighborhood, where many residents have spent the past 12 hours cleaning up after the storms.
Power crews have been working to get electricity back on for residents. So far, power has been restored to most people.
Officials were also working to access the destruction and determine just how many properties were damaged.
Authorities said the biggest problem was from people driving through looking at the damage. They have asked for people to stay away so cleanup can move as fast as possible.
An EF-0 tornado occurred in Clay County, while an EF-1 tornado touched down in Pickett County and moved southeast into Fentress County.
EF-0 tornadoes have winds of up to 72 mph, while EF-1 tornadoes can reach speeds of 122 mph.
The Nashville area was not spared from the high winds either, with trees and power lines down in the Berry Hill area and power outages across the southern parts of the city.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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