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“Major flash flooding is occurring with numerous roads, interstates, and homes flooded with water rescues ongoing,” the National Weather Service in Nashville
said. “Please stay home and do not travel.”
The weather service said there were multiple water rescues ongoing across southern Nashville and there were “people clinging to trees.”
“This is a life-threatening situation — do not travel tonight,” it said early Sunday morning.
The rainfall recorded across Nashville on Saturday was the largest daily rainfall ever recorded in March and ranked as the fourth wettest day in the city’s history, according to the
weather service. In Mount Juliet, an entire shopping center was completely submerged in water, according to a
storm report from the weather service.
“Roadways across the area are extremely dangerous, with many flooded roadways,” Mt. Juliet Police Capt. Tyler Chandler
wrote on Twitter. “Please, if you are in a safe area, stay where you are. Do not travel, and definitely do not attempt to drive through flood waters. Our emergency responders are handling multiple incidents.”
Another
storm report said residents were trapped in attics of their homes near Woodbine. The Metro Nashville Fire Department
said early Sunday emergency crews were responding to residents impacted by the severe weather all across the county.
Flash flood watches are also in effect for parts of surrounding states with more rainfall expected. The floods come just days after strong storms and tornadoes gripped parts of the South,
killing at least six people. Rains from the earlier storm system have left the ground extremely saturated and rivers already swollen.
Tornado damage reported
There were also reports of possible tornado damage in the wake of the current storm system.
Late Saturday afternoon, radar showed possible twin tornadoes in middle Tennessee, about 80 miles southwest of Nashville — one near Linden and the other just east of Lexington. Two houses were “extensively damaged, one of which was destroyed” by a tornado Saturday evening in Middlefork, near Lexington, Henderson County Sheriff Brian Duke told CNN.
Several structures and homes were also damaged Saturday night when a tornado moved through Rusk County, Texas, according to David Chenault, spokesperson for the Rusk County Office of Emergency Management.
“We have had quite a bit of damage in the Mt. Enterprise area of Rusk County,” Chenault said.
Most of the roads in that area were blocked by downed trees, the spokesperson said, and utilities are out.
The NWS has not officially confirmed any tornadoes in Mt. Enterprise but a tornado warning was in effect around 7 p.m., when the damage occurred.
CNN’s Andy Rose and Tyler Mauldin contributed to this report.
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