EF-1 Tornado confirmed outside of Memphis from Monday’s severe storms

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Severe weather moved across the Mid-South early Monday morning, with severe storms impacting several communities in West Tennessee.

Extensive damage was left behind from a confirmed EF-1 tornado in south Memphis.

Downed power lines and major structural damage to some businesses occurred around Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Cotton Lane in Memphis.

The Cottonwood Apartments in Parkway Village was one area dealing with heavy damage.

“We came outside, all the roofs on the Cottonwood (are) gone,” said Katherine Harris, who was staying at the complex with her brother. “It was about 5 o’clock, we were sitting in his room and we were sitting by the window and all of a sudden the building started shaking.”

Some residents were trying to stay in good spirits during the ordeal

“Windows started shaking,” said Robert “R. Jr.”, another resident at the complex. “I was already butt naked in there and everything, then I ran into the closet butt naked and said ‘I hope nothing going to happen real bad, I’m naked up in here.'”

Official reports from the National Weather Service say there was straight line wind damage surrounding the tornado, with an estimated peak wind of 105 mph, leaving debris across 1.4 miles.

“All of a sudden we just heard this noise and they always say when like a tornado hit, it be sounding like a train and stuff like that,” said Harris. “You know, how you have a plastic bottle and it’s dented in at the top, it just went pop, it popped out.”

Residents in the apartment complex will be displaced but are thankful it wasn’t worse.

“It’s O.K., God is good, he got us,” said Harris. “So whatever we are going through now, we ain’t even got to worry about it. We already good.”

An EF-1 tornado also moved through the community of Tyronza in East Arkansas, northwest of Memphis.