Straight Line Winds Of 90-95 MPH In White County

National Weather Service meteorologists found straight-line wind damage in excess of 90-95mph through White County during its assessment Monday.

Meteorologist Krissy Hurley said the strongest wind damage occurred just south of Sparta. Forecasters also found an EF-0 tornado on the north side of the wind field.

“There was a distinct path, as a blowing line segments, what we call a bow echo, which you see on radar,” Hurley said. “The storm is like bowing out and where it was pulling out what we call the apex of the bow, you actually saw the most significant wind damage.”

Hurley said the storm produced something unique with a tornado at a lower wind-speed than the straight-line winds.

Straight-line winds of 80-85 mph caused the damage in Cumberland and Fentress Counties.

By examining the trees down across the county, forecasters can see wind speed and direction.

“Well, the easiest way to depict straight line wind damage is when all the damage is pretty much going in the same direction,” Hurley said. “So we had a whole bunch of uprooted trees, especially in White County and in Cumberland County. And they’re all laying in the same direction. So the storm was moving east, northeast, northeast at times, and all the trees were laying towards that direction of where the storm is moving.”

Tornado damage, Hurley said, will cause more urgent damage with limbs and debris moving in different directions.