KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tornado sirens blared in parts of East Tennessee Sunday evening and night after strong storms pushed through the area, leaving some damage behind.
As of 8 p.m. Monday, no injuries had been reported in the viewing area.
National Weather Service survey teams in Nashville and Morristown confirmed that there were at least four tornadoes that struck East Tennessee on Sunday, hitting Cumberland, Scott and Fentress counties.
NWS Morristown said an EF-1 tornado touched down in Crossville. The tornado produced 95 mph winds, was 50 yards wide and had a 1.7-mile-long path.
Larry Brummett shared this video of the funnel cloud forming at 5:30 p.m. CDT.
Cumberland County 911 dispatchers reported some damage off Interstate 40 Exit 317. Dispatchers said crews were responding to The Executive Inn at the exit for some damage, but said nobody was hurt. A home located off Highway 70 was also reportedly damaged when the storm hit, and traffic had to be closed on the northbound side as crews responded. No serious injuries have been reported.
Steven Joiner, who was staying at the Executive Inn near Crossville, was there when the storms ripped off half of the roof -- saying it happened in the blink of an eye.
"The wind started back up again, things started crashing, it took about only 15 minutes," he said.
Just 5 minutes away from the hotel, a home was reduced to rubble.
Another EF-1 tornado touched down in Scott County at 6:10 p.m. EST, according to the NWS.
The tornado produced 95 mph winds and was 200 yards wide in Helenwood, which is 4 miles west of Huntsville, the NWS said.
Two different EF-1 tornadoes touched down in Fentress County, according to NWS Nashville survey teams. The first occurred around 4 p.m. CDT in the Allardt and Jamestown area. The NWS said the funnel cloud was packing 110 mph winds, was 300 yards wide and traveled 10.8 miles.
A viewer shared a video from Allardt in Fentress County of what appeared to be another tornado forming around 4:45 EDT. The NWS reported a spotter saw a tornado briefly touch down and go back up near Highway 52.
Another tornado hit the Grimsely and Clarkrange area of Fentress County around 7:40 p.m. CDT. The NWS said winds hit 90 mph, and the tornado was roughly 30 yards wide and traveled 1.8 miles.
"My neighbor down the road here lost his roof, the church had some serious structure damage, and surprisingly it didn't take that long to go through... from the time I heard it from it to go through took about five minutes," Tommy Hayes from Fentress County said.
Several tornado warnings were also issued in portions of Morgan, Knox, Anderson, Campbell, and Fentress counties. Dispatchers did not report any serious damage in those areas.
Tornadoes, severe storms strike East Tennessee
More than 2,000 people in Knox County lost power due to the storms. Sporadic power outages were reported elsewhere in East Tennessee.
The Knoxville Fire Department said people should be extremely careful on the road overnight and to not drive through any flooded roads.