CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – The severe storm hit suddenly on Saturday, October 26 during the later afternoon hours.

Within several minutes Clarksville residents watched and listened as trees bent, broke and toppled on to powerlines, fences, and homes. Debris tumbled and flew through the air as wind speeds peaked at over 60 mph and the rain accompanied the chaos.

When the storm finished rolling over Montgomery County the damage was extensive. Thousands lost power and 7,000 are still without power. Roads were closed due to debris in the road. Schools were closed due to multiple issues. There were even fire-related incidents related to the storm directly and indirectly, including a barn and home fire. 

Monday, the Emergency Management Agency continues to evaluate the damage.

“Since the storms come through it’s been quite busy,” said Ed Baggett, director of Montgomery County EMA. “The largest problem we have is with trees and powerlines. … We still have a lot of power outages throughout the county and city.”

One home and five mobile homes were destroyed.

“There may be a few more as we finished doing assessments the next couple of days,” Baggett said.

The Clarksville Speedway had substantial damage and there were damages reported at the Clarksville Regional Airport, Baggett said.

Almost every subdivision in town had multiple reports of downed trees and home damages.

Palmyra Health and Rehabilitation nursing home has extensive damage to the roof and they are currently working to get the issues resolved. No patients have been moved, Baggett said.

“It’s an ongoing process,” he concluded.

Tornado or Thunderstorm?

The winds were strong Saturday and the damage severe, but it was not a tornado according to meteorologists.

“There were some powerful winds. We had a low-pressure system coming at us and that mixed in with a tropical system from the Gulf of Mexico,” said Sam  Herron, meteorologist with the National Weather Services. “It created some very powerful straight-line winds. We think those winds were over 60 mph across a large portion of Montgomery County, but we didn’t see any indication of tornadoes.”

Herron said straight-line winds can cause damages similar to that of a tornado.

“People need to keep in mind straight-line winds can be just as powerful as tornadoes, make the same sounds and cause some widespread destruction,” Herron said.