National Weather Service says EF-0 tornado hit Claiborne County during storms Saturday

Posted: Jan 12, 2020 / 08:13 AM EST

Updated: Jan 12, 2020 / 08:23 PM EST

CLAIBORNE COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE)- Preliminary results from a National Weather Service survey team are that an intermittent EF-0 tornado with maximum winds of 65 mph and a width of about 20 yards occurred Saturday near Tazewell, the Weather Service said Sunday.

The National Weather Service issued two tornado warnings in East Tennessee on Saturday. Claiborne County is just one area that saw a strong line of storms.

Our storm survey results show that a weak EF-0 tornado 🌪 occurred on Saturday evening near Tazewell, TN in Claiborne County. Damage coincided with radar rotation just north of New Tazewell & Tazewell before dissipating. The full info can be accessed here: https://t.co/LHdO14l7Gj pic.twitter.com/QGKRvC9fHY
— NWS Morristown (@NWSMorristown) January 13, 2020

The preliminary results from our survey team are that an intermittent EF-0 tornado with maximum winds of 65 mph and a width of about 20 yards occurred yesterday near Tazewell, TN. More details will follow later this afternoon. #mrxwx
— NWS Morristown (@NWSMorristown) January 12, 2020

Chris Hager, a homeowner tells Wate 6 On your Side he and his family knew just what to do before the shingles got peeled off his roof top. “I just had this gut feeling I’m not going to fool with it. We’re not going to fool with it. Just going down to the basement and let it pass,” said Hager.

WATE 6 On Your Side also spoke with the Claiborne County Mayor. ” We are a large County. We’ve had some scattered reports of some tree damages and some roof damages,” said Joe Brooks the Claiborne County Mayor.

The EF scale of measuring tornadoes, or the Enhanced Fujita Scale, contains six categories going from EF-0 (wind speeds of 65-85 mph) to EF–5 (wind speeds over 200 mph).