NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — We are now kicking off Severe Weather Awareness Week, which is a fitting time given that in just a few days, we will mark one year since the March 3 tornadoes that rocked Middle Tennessee.
The National Weather Service will have online talks each day this week about different types of severe weather.
I talked with NewsChannel 5 meteorologist Heather Mathis about the weather we can experience in Middle Tennessee. A big reminder from her is to be prepared, have a plan and even practice as a family where to go in the event of tornado warnings, like we saw just yesterday.
“Typically, the tornadoes that we get here in Middle Tennessee are on the weaker side. Generally, we get EF 0 to EF 2 graded tornadoes in Middle Tennessee, but March 3 is a reminder that while they are rare, significant and violent tornadoes like EF 3 and EF 4’s can certainly happen here and that's why you need to have a plan in place,” said Mathis.
Those tornadoes rocked several communities, destroying so much, and for many, the devastation was personal.
“It destroyed my elementary school and destroyed my middle school in Mt. Juliet. It destroyed my husband's school, Donaldson Christian Academy, so it really hit home for me. It was more than just a historic tornado event for many people, it was life changing for a lot of folks in my hometown, and the devastation is still there a year later,” she said.
This week is really just a reminder that weather can happen at a moment's notice and we all need to have a plan in place.
