LAWRENCE COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — Severe storms swept through Lawrence County during the night, injuring at least one person and sending a massive tree crashing into a family's home south of Ethridge.
First responders set up a mobile command center at Summertown High School and worked through the night to clear debris left behind by the strong winds.
For Shana Meade and her family, the storm brought a sleepless night and severe damage to their rented home off Highway 43. Meade said the skies fell eerily quiet around 1 a.m., which was the first sign a bad storm was headed their way.
By 3 a.m., the storm roared back to life.
"We got woke up to the banging, loud noises, like a freight train was outside," Meade said.
"I was in the living room right here. I could hear it crash. I heard the wind. It literally sounded like a freight train," she said. "Just the loud roaring... it sounded like a whole bunch of debris just hitting the house, just slamming everywhere. It was just a lot of noise."
Meade and her family rushed to their safe spot just moments before a massive tree came crashing down onto the house.
"I knew something was falling. The carport came down. I got up, found my son," Meade said.
Branches from the downed tree covered half of the home, and leaves blanketed the rest of the lawn. The collapsed carport trapped Meade's car, and the impact cracked the interior walls and ceilings.
"It's cracked the ceiling," Meade said. "That's my car under the carport here."
Despite the destruction, Meade said she is focused on her family's safety.
"Very thankful. The car, I'm not worried. It's materialistic stuff... As long as he's OK we're gonna be fine," Meade said. "I'm a little shook up... I want to cry, but it happens... My heart still hasn't slowed down yet, but it's getting there."
Meade told me she and her family packed their belongings to stay with family in town while they work through insurance claims. They know it is not safe to stay in the damaged house.
"To wait till daylight and see what it had really done—that was the scariest thing. It was the waiting to see what all the damage was," Meade said. "I hope everyone else made it OK like we did."
Lawrence County EMA officials said when the sun came up, they were thankful the damage was not as bad as they were expecting, noting the Meade home was one of the worst spots. Officials are preparing for another round of storms.
The National Weather Service will survey the damage later this week to determine the strength of the storms and whether a tornado touched down.
This story was reported on-air by Amanda Roberts and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
