KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — An EF1 tornado touched down in Northeast Tennessee Tuesday evening, as a round of storms swept through the area bringing rain and gusty winds.
The National Weather Service said the EF1 tornado touched down in Hancock County. An EF1 ranking denotes a tornado with gusts of between 86 mph and 110 mph, capable of damaging homes and injuring people. One UT expert said it was the first September tornado in East Tennessee in decades.
On Tuesday, the weather service issued a Tornado Warning for parts of Hancock County and Hawkins County, as well as areas of Lee County, Virginia. The warning expired around 7 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, while some storm cells moved through the region.
It was the first round of storms expected to sweep through East Tennessee in the coming days, bringing rain and gusty winds. The storms moving through the region on Wednesday are expected to bring flooding concerns across the area.
East Tennessee has been experiencing drought conditions recently. Because of that, the ground is drier than usual and may not be able to absorb moisture as quickly as usual. The biggest storms are expected to last at least until Friday.
