NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Persistent storm cells have raked Tennessee, killing three people in Cumberland County.
Jill Lewis, assistant emergency management agency director in the Cumberland Plateau county, confirmed the fatality Wednesday evening but had no details.
High winds moved across the state, flattening trees and tearing roofs off buildings. Some power lines were downed.
The cells moved at up to 75 mph, accompanied by thunder and lightning and pingpong-ball-sized hail.
By late afternoon, most of the severe weather had passed through Nashville and had reached the Cumberland Plateau.
Much of the state was under a tornado watch Wednesday, and a few more serious tornado warnings also were posted.
Storms that rumbled through northwest Tennessee earlier Wednesday brought down some limbs but caused no known injuries or serious damage in the Reelfoot Lake region.