2 tornadoes confirmed after strong storms push through Middle Tennessee

The Wilson County Sheriff’s Officer reported a possible tornado touched down in Watertown, around South Commerce Road.

In Watertown, the mayor told News 2 several homes and barns were damaged. Power is also out throughout the town and the Watertown sanitation department was reportedly experiencing issues.

Sumer County EMA Ken Weidner said trees and power lines were reported down in Portland and a church across from city hall had its roof ripped off. Several businesses in Hendersonville also reported blown out windows.A boy was also taken to the hospital as a precaution in Montgomery County after EMA Director Jerry Buchanan said a tree fell on his family’s trailer.

DuPont Hadley Middle School’s principal told News 2 winds damaged the back of its building and students had to be moved to the gym as a precaution.

Creekwood High School in Dickson also suffered roof damage and had some water pipes burst, affecting around six classrooms. Students were moved to other parts of the building.

Power Outages

At the height of the storms, Middle Tennessee Electric reported nearly 12,000 power outages in its coverage area. By 10:45 a.m. that number had dropped to around 3,700 customers. By 2 p.m., service was restored to the majority of the area, leaving only around 350 homes without power. Click here to view the outage map.

Nashville Electric Service also reported around 12,000 outages earlier Wednesday. By late morning, around 8,200 customers were still without power. By 2 p.m., there were still about 3,400 homes without power. Click here to view the outage map.

School Closures

Benton, Cheatham, Montgomery, Robertson, and other counties decided to open schools late because of the storms. Perry County Schools were closed for the day.

Metro-Nashville Schools opened on time, but said in a statement any students who were late because of the storm would not be counted as tardy.

“I apologize for my decision not to delay school this morning,” he said. “Key personnel had monitored the storm’s track for the past several days. We expected it to arrive later this morning during the school day.”  Williamson County Schools also opened on time. Later Wednesday morning Superintendent Dr. Mike Looney issued an apology via Twitter for the decision.

Courtesy of WKRN Nashville’s News 2