NWS Teams Look At Debris To Determine Tornado Or Straight Line

A National Weather Service team has already determined straight line winds caused Cookeville’s damage Saturday night.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Mark Rose said the team is looking for some specific things.

“They’ll look at the debris, if it’s all going in one direction, that’s a good indication of straight-line winds,” Rose said. “Tornado activity causes the debris field to be twisted and turned lots of different directions.”

He also said houses with foundation damage and cars moved by wind are strong indicators of tornado activity.

That team is in Cumberland County early Sunday afternoon touring damaged areas. They’ll move on to White County later this afternoon.