Bradford homeowner speaks about surviving EF-1 tornado

BRADFORD, Tenn. — “It woke us up, and we could hear glass breaking,” Bradford homeowner David Dudley said.

Dudley says he, along with his wife and daughter, had to rush to safety during severe weather Monday night.

According to the National Weather Service, an EF-1 tornado hit Bradford shortly after 10 p.m. Monday. It lasted about 20 minutes.

“We could feel the suction. It was trying to pull the doors open, the doors off the master bedroom,” Dudley said.

That’s when they rushed to the hallway to take cover.

“Not too many minutes after that, obviously it was over and we had no idea what the damage was,” Dudley said.

Survey crews say the tornado had a wind speed of 95 miles per hour.

“There were several grain bins across the road, scattered everywhere,” Dudley said.

The owner says one of the seven destroyed grain bins will cost $190,000 to replace.

Another house has their master bedroom roof cave-in as well.

But Dudley says, lucky for him, he can eventually move back into his home. It will just need a complete overhaul.

“It is just heartbreaking of what we saw the next day of all the damage in the state of Tennessee and the loss of life,” he says.

Dudley says no one in his family was injured except for their dog, who is currently at the vet receiving treatment.