An unexpected possible tornado touchdown caused multiple injuries near Sweetwater on Friday morning, according to the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office.
Around 9:00am on Friday, May 30, spokesperson Cody Bengel reported the possible touchdown in the Philadelphia area near Holt Road and Stockton Valley.
According to the sheriff’s office, dozens of first responders are at the scene assessing victims and transporting them to the hospital. Bengel also reported downed power lines, tress, and debris.
In Blount County, the sheriff’s office reports no tornado touchdowns or damage so far.
Monroe County Emergency Management confirmed to NBC affiliate WBIR that four people were injured and at least five properties are damaged. They say residents are being asked to stay clear of the impacted areas and to report any downed power lines or damages to authorities.
“This has never happened before. We’ve always been an agency that has provided 24/7 service to the American public,” Fahy said. “The risk is extremely high — if cuts like this continue to the National Weather Service, people will die.”
The Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) notes in a Facebook post that the scene in Sweetwater indicates a possible tornado touchdown or “straight line wind event.” Crews are assessing the damage and assisting the community; THP writes that the damage appears to be limited to the Monroe County area.
“Preliminary information indicates a few homes have been affected,” writes the THP. “Paramedics are transporting four people to the hospital for evaluation.”
The National Weather Service (NWS) say they are sending a crew to Sweetwater to help assess the situation and were reported to be expected by 11:30am. Officials tell WBIR they expect to have results from the storm survey by 4:00pm ET.
The NWS said that at 9:10am, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was found 11 miles southwest of Maryville, moving east at 25 miles per hour. The warning was for southeastern Loudon County and Central Blount County.
In Morristown, the NWS said radio systems are down for maintenance through Friday, May 30. The outage is expected to impact NOAA Weather Radio for the Morristown service areas.
For the time being, the Morristown office is using the Nashville team to get special weather statements and warnings communicated to the public.
Just 10 days ago, a town in Kentucky experienced the same unexpected outages when their system underwent a scheduled “major computer upgrade.”
Meteorologist with the NWS in Lousiville Mike Kochasic tells WBIR that the timing for the upgrade was “terrible,” but the upgrades need to happen and could not be postponed.
“Unfortunately, when that computer needs to be updated, those systems do come down, and the timing is terrible. With severe weather coming through Kentucky, it couldn’t be rescheduled,” Kochasic said. “The weather was not a good excuse. In the nationwide contract, things were already set in motion to have this upgrade. So, unfortunately, it is what it is. It was just poor timing.”
The NWS recommends using other sources to stay weather-aware, such as downloading the Local 3 Weather App for iOS and Android.
