Tornado rips through Tennessee leaving at least two dead and major destruction

All early reports indicate a tornado touched down in Benton County the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 3.

Emergency personnel continued to respond to heavily damaged areas several hours later.

The storm continued to march East. Metro Nashville Police reported two people died in East Nashville as a result of the storm.

According to the US National Weather Service, the storm was a potentially a long-track tornado that began several miles west of Nashville, continued through Nashville and then areas east of Nashville. The city of Cookeville has been hard-hit as well.”

The release stated, “A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 6 a.m. and there are still storms in the area. We understand everyone's concern. We are concerned, too, as the tornado came very close to the office and struck near where a lot of us live. We have been reading through the comments here and on Twitter looking for damage reports, photos, videos, etc. Unfortunately, due to the volume of questions that are coming across social media, there is no way we can respond to everyone. We will continue to keep you informed should additional warnings be issued.”

Benton County schools were already scheduled off for Primary voting on Tuesday. Carroll County, as well as many Middle Tennessee school districts closed on March 3, due to widespread storm damage.

This is a developing story.