Severe Thunderstorms Continue This Afternoon

Update: 4 p.m. There was a confirmed tornado last night on Highway 657 in the Clear Creek Area.

Update: A funnel cloud was sighted in the Sulfur Springs area this afternoon, and severe thunderstorm advisories are in effect throughout the Tri-Cities right now. Reports are coming in of a severe storm in Unicoi County as well. This is a developing story, for the latest check our radar, Vipir 11 here. We also have reports of rotation in the Damascus, Va. area.

Check out the newest photos on our slideshow, below:
And join Mallory Nicholls for a special stormy weather web chat, tonight!

UPDATE AT 7:30 a.m. by Josh Smith, News Channel 11 Connects

Another round of powerful storms hit the Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia region early Wednesday. 

At about 5 a.m., the National Weather Service issued a Tornado Warning for Hancock County just west of Rogersville.  News Channel 11 Connects’ LIve Vipir 11 Radar showed rotation in clouds over Hawkins County as well.  So far, there have been no reports of funnel clouds touching down and causing damage.

The line of storms moved southeast into Greene County around 6:00 a.m. where the NWS issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning.  West Main, Linda, McKee, and Lake Streets in Greeneville as well as a section of Andrew Johnson Highway were closed because of flooding, but the roads were re-opened after 7 a.m, Greeneville Police said.

Smyth County Virginia was under a Flash Flood Warning, but a dispatcher at the Smyth County Virginia Sheriff’s Office said few flooding reports had been called in.

The News Channel 11 Connects StormTeam predicts more severe weather could happen later Wednesday. 

View more coverage and local photos, videos, from last night’s round of storms here.

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BY CLAIRE GALOFARO
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER

Powerful thunderstorms rocked Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee Tuesday evening, with confirmed funnel clouds in Smyth and Washington counties in Virginia, and Kingsport, Tenn.
There were no confirmed tornadoes Tuesday night, weather officials said, and no reported injuries.

The storm had sustained winds at 40 mph, and gusts up to 60 mph, that brought down trees and power lines, resulting in power outages in both Bristols and other parts of the region. It blew in from the west, picked up just over Bristol, then tapered off as it headed east, according to Shawn O‘Neill, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Morristown, Tenn.

“It moved right along the state line of Tennessee, affecting well to north and well to the south of the border,” he said.

The entire region braced for the storm, as tornado warnings were issued for Bristol and Washington, Smyth, Russell, Scott and Lee counties in Virginia, and Johnson County in Tennessee. Sullivan County, Tenn. and Tazewell County, Va. had severe thunderstorm warnings, according to the NWS. 

In addition to power outages in both Bristols, thousands of homes were without power into the night in Washington County, Va. and Sullivan County, Tenn., which took the brunt of the storm and each reported more than 3,000 customers without electricity, according to Appalachian Power’s Web site. Nearly 2,000 customers in Scott County, Va., lost power, and there were isolated outages in Dickenson, Russell, Smyth, Tazewell and Wythe counties, the Web site states.

The NWS plans to spend much of the day today assessing property damage and investigating whether there was tornado activity, O’Neill said.

They might not have much time, though. Weather officials suspect this afternoon and evening will usher in more storms.

“We’ll probably see more of this tomorrow,” said Mark Reynolds, News Channel 11 Connect’s chief meteorologist. “I don’t think there will be any more funnel clouds, but that’s still a possibility.”

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