NWS The path of the 2020 Nashville tornado is in green.
Extensive damage and fatalities were reported throughout Nashville, Tennessee due to the major tornado that struck the city in the early morning hours of March 3, 2020. What was the tornado’s path?
You can see maps throughout this article that show the tornado’s deadly track. Police said there were two fatalities in east Nashville and reported these road closures: “Road closures now in effect: Jefferson St Bridge westbound, Rosa L. Parks Blvd at Jefferson St., Main St btwn 8th & 10th Streets.”
The March 3, 2020 tornado’s path is green in the map below. The other lines are for the 1998 (red) and 1993 (purple) tornadoes. TEMA is now reporting that 19 people have died from the tornadoes throughout Middle Tennessee. The death count then rose to 21.
However, all 3 tornadoes struck the 5 Points area of East Nashville. The 1998 and 1933 tornadoes occurred during the afternoon, while the 2020 tornado occurred in the middle of the night.
Shoutout to @shamnadoes for this early morning map work.
Krissy Hurley, a meteorologist, wrote that Nashville has a tornado history: “…all 3 tornadoes struck the 5 Points area of East Nashville. The 1998 and 1933 tornadoes occurred during the afternoon, while the 2020 tornado occurred in the middle of the night.”
On Tuesday morning, Nashville police wrote, “Day shift officers from 4 of the 8 precincts are being called in now to supplement the overnight shift. Officers who specialize in Urban Search and Rescue are also being called in.” The tornado struck around 1 a.m. in Nashville.
One of our helicopters just landed after surveying tornado destruction from overnight.
Police also noted: “Officers and Fire Department personnel are on the scenes of multiple buildings with damage, primarily in the Central (downtown) & East Precincts. Emergency responders are working to ensure persons can get out and secure the areas.”
As people try to travel into and out of damage zone, you can see the tornado’s path through Nashville Metro on @googlemaps
Here’s another view of the tornado’s track.
Here’s an estimated tornado track I made based on the KOHX radar. Would have went through the north and east sides of metro Nashville.
Not sure if this works but you might be able to open the track through this link.
t.co/xxDhGXYAoS
And another:
This is a very rough, hand-drawn line and 0.25-mile buffer of the possible tornado path/damage for Nashville (03/03/2020 Early AM) based on social media and photos from @livemapus.
Map: t.co/MMIi73ce22
Other areas of Tennessee were also hit. Here’s a map of the tornado’s path in Mt. Juliet.
Below is an estimated illustration of the tornado damage path through the city limits:
What’s damaged? That was still being sorted out, but early reports were that at least 40 buildings were damaged throughout Nashville with at least two deaths in East Nashville (and another seven deaths throughout the area). The governor said in a morning update that at least nine people have died across four counties. Governor Bill Lee added that an undetermined number of people are still missing.
Nashville @JohnCooper4Nash at the emergency shelter at the Farmers Market in Germantown addresses the tornado that hit Nashville:
“There’s a really good possibility that there may be more,” Lee said. “It’s early yet…A number of people are missing.” There are also injuries, the governor said in the press conference.
Here’s what known about some of the damage:
The Basement East, all but destroyed, its “I believe in Nashville” mural left untouched💙
The Basement East reported that its building was significantly damaged. Rebecca Cardenas, a local journalist, wrote, “The Basement East, all but destroyed, its ‘I believe in Nashville’ mural left untouched.” The Basement East wrote on Twitter, “All staff working tonight are okay! Building sustained significant damage. #Nashville #Tornado”
Additional photos and videos showed the severe damage.
Everyone check on your #Nashville friends. Especially East Nash. The Basement East is gone, as well as other buildings in that area.
Roofs blown off across East Nashville. This is the Basement East on Woodland Street. @NC5
Roofs were reportedly blown off in that area. Journalist Justin Kollar wrote, “I cannot believe the devastation left behind from the #tornado in Nashville. The Basement East, where this mural is painted, is destroyed however it’s ‘I Believe in Nashville’ is still proudly standing! #nashvilletornado #nashvillestrong.”
Here are more photos of the building damage throughout Nashville. Brett Kelman, a reporter for the Tennessean, wrote, “I’m in East Nashville, where local cops are getting ready to hit the streets to survey tornado damage & ward off looters. Officials here say Five Points was crushed hard. Commander David Imhof: ‘There are businesses in Five points that basically don’t exist anymore.'” According to the Tennessean, Imhof added, “Basement East is gone. BoomBozz is gone.” A roof was torn off an apartment building at Ramsey and North 8th streets, the newspaper reported, and a woman was trapped in a closet.
Here is some of the tornado damage in Nashville. Five people killed, dozens of buildings destroyed when at least two tornadoes moved through the area early Tuesday morning.
Damage was focused in the downtown and east police precincts. “Officers and Fire Department personnel are on the scenes of multiple buildings with damage, primarily in the Central (downtown) & East Precincts. Emergency responders are working to ensure persons can get out and secure the areas,” wrote Nashville police.
“Two fatalities have been reported to the MNPD, the victims from East Nashville,” wrote Metro Nashville PD. Those victims have not yet been named, and additional details on them are not yet known.
Mayor John Cooper wrote that Nashville “is hurting, and our community has been devastated. My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones. Be sure to lend a helping hand to a neighbor in need, and let’s come together as a community once more. Together, we will get through this and come out stronger.”
The tornado damage has impacted Super Tuesday as there are alternate polling places for some locations.
The Election Commission told Heavy that if people are having trouble making it to their polling place, there’s another option to vote on Super Tuesday: “any voter whose polling location has been impacted may vote at either of our offices: 1417 Murfreesboro Pike or 800 Second Avenue South, 4th Floor.”
Here are the polling place changes from the Election Commission. The numbers represent the district-precinct of the location.
Voting at CLEVELAND PARK COMM CTR 5-2
Ross Elementary 5-5
East Regional Community Ctr 6-1
Shelby Community Center 6-2
Cora Howe Elementary 6-5
Martha O’Bryan Center 6-3
Voting at DONELSON PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 15-3
Dupont-Tyler Middle School 11-4 & 12-3
Hermitage Presbyterian 12-1
Ruby Major Elementary 12-2 & 12-5
Hermitage Hills Baptist Church 12-1
Hermitage Community Center
Hermitage Elem School 14-2
TN School for the Blind 14-5
Two Rivers Middle School 15-1
Donelson Heights United Methodist 15-2
Voting at PEARL COHN 21-3
Fifteenth Ave Baptist Church 19-2
Watkins Park Community Ctr
Union Hall 20-2
Union Hall 20-1
Robert Churchwell Elem 21-2
Additional single moves:
Haynes Middle 2-3 to Whites Creek Fire St 2-1
Looby Comm Ctr 2-4 to Northwest YMCA 2-5
Lead Brick Church Middle Sch to Bellshire 3-4
READ NEXT: Nashville Tornado Deaths.