Residents assess damage after EF-1 tornado hits Benton County

BENTON COUNTY, Tenn. — As the National Weather Service surveys damage from a destructive weekend storm in Benton county, they say not only did a tornado touch down but it stayed on the ground for two miles.

 “As soon as it got here, it was over. But it’s all material, you know. We’re still here, and that’s the main thing,” Beth Smothers said.

The Smothers family is cleaning up after the Sunday night storm destroyed part of their property.

“There were no warnings. We weren’t expecting this sort of thing. When it hit, it was really scary,” Beth said.

Brady Smothers described winds being strong enough to shake their home. The shed is completely destroyed and the roof of their barn was blown off and thrown into their front yard.

“We heard rain and heavy winds and stuff. Dad got up and checked out the window. We heard a big bang, and he said ‘there goes the roof of the barn,'” Brady said.

The National Weather Service came out to the site Monday to assess and survey the damage.

“Basically what we’re looking at or what we’re trying to look for is to determine what it was,” said warning coordinator meteorologist Gary Woodall of the NWS Memphis. “Was it a tornado or was it straight line winds that caused the damage, and how extensive was the damage.”

Neighbors said they’re lucky no one’s home was damaged. But their tree-line property — that’s another story.

Residents who own the property say it lasted about 45 seconds. More than 100 trees were knocked down, and the damage spans the width of a football field.

The National Weather Service determined the damage to be an EF-1 tornado, tracking more than two miles long and 100 yards wide.

The next round of severe weather could arrive in West Tennessee by Wednesday and Thursday.