National Weather Service checking whether tornado hit Tennessee's Sevier County

Friday, June 14, 2013

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The National Weather Service may soon have information on whether damage in Sevier County came from a tornado or straight-line wind.

The NWS office in Morristown said this morning that an assessment team was going to review the damage later in the day.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reported a fast-moving severe thunderstorm raced through the area Thursday afternoon.

Preliminary information from the weather service Thursday stated there was a report of a funnel cloud and said winds were clocked at more than 65 mph in a number of East Tennessee communities.

Sevier County Emergency Management Agency Director John Mathews said responders found a straight-line damage path that was as much as 100 feet wide and up to a half-mile long.