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NWS confirms tornado occurred near Tazewell, TN

After surveying the damage, the National Weather Service confirmed a tornado occurred Saturday.

The National Weather Service confirmed Sunday that a tornado occurred near Tazewell, Tennessee Saturday evening.

After a preliminary survey of the storm's damage, NWS announced the storm near Tazewell was an intermittent EF-0 tornado. The agency said the tornado's winds reached a maximum of 65 miles per hour, and its width was about 30 yards. It traveled along a 3.3-mile path.

The tornado, along with severe storms across the region, caused damage to structures across East Tennessee. Viewers sent in several images of the storm's damage, from ripped-off roofs to trampolines flung into trees.

NWS officials said the winds started with a line of severe thunderstorms across the region. A brief "area of rotation" formed within the line of storms over eastern Claiborne County. 

The rotation spawned a weak tornado that caused intermittent damage near Tazewell.

The tornado initially touched down on Pine Avenue, an area to the northwest of New Tazewell. It uprooted a large pine tree onto a house, and damaged roof shingles and shutters on another house. 

Storm damage in the area also included several snapped or uprooted trees and damaged house exteriors.

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