MEMPHIS, Tenn.– While MLGW crews work to completely restore power to customers, folks in several neighborhoods are cleaning up debris left from a powerful storm that packed winds of 50 to 60 miles per hour.
A chain saw gnawing its way through a downed tree limb was a common sound Monday throughout the area south of Macon Road and West of Whitten Road where Saturday night’s storm left a mess and a few nightmares.
Bryan Thompson and his wife escaped injury but the storm left its mark.
“It just sounded like a tornado was coming through. The traditional freight train noise, so we all looked at each other…’time to get into the hallway,'” Thompson said. “And we hear limbs coming down. One smashed through one of our windows, limbs went through the roof, actually took out our car.”
He said the wind blew hard for about a minute and the power was out for almost three hours.
The Thompsons just moved to Memphis from Tampa, Florida, so Bryan’s no stranger to severe weather.
“I’ve lived through five hurricanes. The worst one was Hurricane Charley in 2004. That was a Category 4 hurricane,” he said.
But he said Saturday night’s storm was a lot different.
“I’ve never heard any sounds like I heard when the storm came through the other night,” Thompson said.
Not far away at the Greenbrook at Shelby Farms condos, one unit was heavily damaged by a falling tree. Workers on the scene told WREG no one was injured.
A few blocks away on Phillips Road, Archie Ballard was raking up debris in his front yard.
“We was without power for 24 hours but we got it back on about 9:30 last night. We were lucky,” Ballard said.
Lucky because his house could have very easily been crushed by a giant tree like his next-door neighbor’s house was.
“There was a girl sleeping in there, in the back bedroom and the tree missed her by ten feet,” Ballard said.
We’re told she was not injured, but the tree’s impact blew out most of the home’s windows.
You’ll recall a straight line wind event hit Tipton County Saturday night causing damage in Covington and forcing the town to cancel most of Covington’s Heritage Festival.
The mayor told WREG there were no major injuries as a result of the storm.