(RepublicanPress.org) – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) reported that about 1,200 tornadoes strike the United States annually, although official records only date back to 1950. Those storms typically peak in the Gulf Coast region in early spring, in the southern Plains in May and early June, and in the upper Midwest and northern Plains in June and July. However, the NSSL warned that they can occur at any time. That was demonstrated when several twisters struck central Tennessee recently.
On Sunday, December 10, a series of deadly tornadoes that struck residents of central Tennessee over the weekend. National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Cory Mueller confirmed that the agency tracked at least six reports of tornado tracks in the state on Saturday. The NWS sent out teams of storm trackers to monitor the situation and calculate the severity of those storms.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department issued a press release on Saturday detailing the circumstances surrounding the deaths of three people during one of those storms that evening. Joseph Dalton, 37, was inside his mobile home when the heavy winds hurled his home on top of another trailer house, killing Floridema Perez, 31, and her two-year-old son, Anthony Mendez. Perez’s 10-year-old son and Dalton’s 7-year-old son were inside their respective homes. Emergency rescue workers transported them to a nearby pediatric center with non-life-threatening injuries.
Likewise, Montgomery County officials issued a similar statement later that evening advising that one child and two adults died as the result of a tornado that struck the City of Clarksville that afternoon. Additionally, 23 other individuals received treatment at a local hospital for injuries. Thousands of homes were left without power after the storm, while hundreds of people were reportedly displaced.
Montgomery County Mayor Wes Golden and Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts posted a brief video calling on citizens to shelter in place, allowing first responders to look for other survivors and assess the damage. Volunteers have been assisting authorities in their efforts to clean up.
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