5 years ago, nocturnal tornadoes killed 25 people in Tennessee
A severe weather outbreak spawned multiple deadly tornadoes on the night of March 2, 2020, including one that roared through the heart of Nashville, Tennessee, under the cover of darkness.
People in Cookeville, Tennessee, picked up the pieces of homes on March 4 after they were demolished by a deadly tornado just days before.
The deadliest tornadoes in years tore a path of destruction through Tennessee five years ago under a veil of darkness, devastating one of the state's biggest cities.
Eight tornadoes struck the Volunteer State on the night of March 2, 2020, including a long-tracked twister that was on the ground for over 60 miles. An EF2 tornado killed one person near Camden, Tennessee, seven miles west of Nashville. The same storm spawned a stronger EF3 tornado that hit the city of Nashville, killing five people. Another, even stronger, EF4 tornado struck Cookeville, 60 miles east of Nashville, causing 19 fatalities.
Prior to those tornadoes, it had been seven years since as many people were killed by one tornado, when an EF5-strength twister claimed 24 lives in Moore, Oklahoma, on May 20, 2013.
The Nashville tornado was the third EF3 on record to move through the downtown area, with the other twisters tearing through in 1933 and 1998.
"Nashville is hurting, and our community has been devastated," Nashville Mayor John Cooper said on Twitter on March 3, 2020. "My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones."
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee called the devastation "heartbreaking" and lamented the loss of life all across the state.
"This is the saddest, most destructive day in Cookeville, Putnam County history," Cookeville Mayor Ricky Shelton said.
John C. Tune Airport in Nashville closed after March 3, 2020 tornado (Metro Police)
After the storm, workers from Uncle Bud’s Catfish in Nashville didn’t want their food to spoil after they lost power, so they decided to help their community.
"The tornadoes hit right next to one of our restaurants, [we] came in with no power so we loaded up our trailers with our food and thought we’d go out and find a place to feed some people," Craig Dever from the restaurant told AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Waddell.
The storm came on Super Tuesday, when voting was set to begin in the state. Four polling stations had to be moved due to damage.
Damaged buildings took years to rebuild. NewsChannel 5 says that West Middle High School in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, 15 miles east of Nashville, just reopened last summer, so the kids haven't been through an entire school year yet in the rebuilt school.
Another seven tornadoes touched down in Kentucky, Missouri and Alabama during the same severe weather outbreak. One twister southeast of Bowling Green, Kentucky, was rated EF2. Baseball-sized hail also fell from the storms in Tennessee.
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