At least three deaths have been confirmed in Tennessee after a massive storm front swept through the state in the early morning hours of Saturday (December 11). The storms were an eerie reminder for many in Nashville who experienced the deadly tornado that swept through Middle Tennessee in the middle of the night on March 3, 2020.
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) confirmed two fatalities in Lake County and one in Obion County, both in West Tennessee, that were a result of the overnight storms, FOX 17 reports. Before passing through Tennessee, the storms also claimed at least one life at the Monette Manor nursing home in Arkansas and injured several others when the roof of the building collapsed with people still inside, per Local Memphis.
The storms cut a path approximately 145 miles through Tennessee, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake with some of the worst reports of damage in Cheatham County. See photos of the damage here.
Over two dozen tornados were tracked overnight across six states, leaving at least 50 people dead. Between 50-100 people are believed to have died in Kentucky alone, including a Western Kentucky University student who was set to graduate on Saturday, per FOX 17. This was confirmed from university president Timothy Caboni on the school's official social media.
"[He and his wife, Kacy] offer our heartfelt condolences and prayers to the young man's family and friends, and to all the families in our broader community who have been so affected by the devastation of last night's storms."