Severe Thunderstorm Warning Issued for East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Through 5:00 AM

Alert Details

The National Weather Service in Morristown has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for portions of east Tennessee and southwestern North Carolina. The warning was issued at 3:56 AM EDT following reports from law enforcement of severe weather conditions.

Affected Areas

The warning covers the following geographic regions:

• Tennessee: Polk County, Monroe County, Southeastern McMinn County, and Southwestern Blount County.
• North Carolina: Western Cherokee County.

Specific locations expected to be impacted include Madisonville, Benton, Ducktown, Etowah, Vonore, Tellico Plains, William L. Davenport Refuge, McGee Carson Peninsula, Big Frog Mountain, and Parksville.

What You Should Do

For your protection, move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building immediately. Residents should remain indoors until the storm has passed. Additionally, a Tornado Watch remains in effect for east Tennessee until 6:00 AM EDT.

Expected Conditions

The primary hazard associated with this storm is wind gusts reaching up to 60 mph. According to the National Weather Service, these winds are expected to cause damage to roofs, siding, and trees. As of 3:55 AM EDT, severe thunderstorms were tracked along a line extending from 6 miles east of Sweetwater to 6 miles east of Cohutta, moving east at 40 mph.

Timeline

The Severe Thunderstorm Warning is effective immediately and is scheduled to expire at 5:00 AM EDT on Monday, March 16.