Tornado damages parts of Carroll, Gibson Counties

BRADFORD, Tenn. — “We thought it was just hard winds, but when the roaring started, then the house started shaking,” said McKenzie resident, Evelyn Eubank.

“All of the sudden we heard a loud, loud roar. I thought it was just the wind getting up. At the time, my wife jerked me and we just laid on the front living room floor,” said Bradford resident, Edward Whitten.

Residents in Gibson and Carroll County say they’ve been through plenty of bad storms before, but Monday night’s tornadoes were something else.

“No. Never. Never experienced anything like this, I mean I’ve been in high wind situations, but never nothing like this,” Whitten said.

“My cabinets opened up and my glasses started falling out, and the lights went out and we started hearing stuff hit the top of the house,” Eubank said.

This barn in Bradford was completely destroyed by the tornado.

Nearby homeowners tell me the tornado also swept up a horse and dropped it in the street, killing it.

“At first I thought maybe it’s just thunder or something, but then it turned into a roar,” Bradford resident, Brad Frotten said. “When a tornado comes, they say it sounds like a freight train. That’s exactly what it sounded like.”

The tornado left a path of destruction, all the way to Carroll County.

The tornado came by Newton Road in McKenzie, destroying one house completely. Neighbors say they’ve been dealt with damage all morning.

A house had its roof ripped off completely, and the tornado even wrapped metal sheets trees.

The tornado then made it to Highway 22, where it downed at least seven utility poles and caused damage to this house on the side of the road.

Other residents were more lucky.

“I still don’t understand how it missed my house as much as it did,” Eubank said.

“Just about all the houses from here down have some kind of damage,” Frotten said.

Throughout the morning, residents were out in the streets, trimming fallen trees and trying to clear roadways.

Utility workers were also attempting to repair the numerous power lines that collapsed.

Residents say they’re just thankful it wasn’t worse.

“Everybody helps everybody,” Frotten said. “We’ve got a good group of people in this neighborhood.”

Carroll County schools were closed Tuesday due to the damage across the county.