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The Lakeway Area was blasted by heavy rains and strong winds, bringing in severe thunderstorm warnings, tornado watches and school closures with it Monday afternoon.

Monday’s storms brought power outages, flooding, strong winds and hazardous driving conditions to Morristown which lasted most of the day. Morristown saw in excess of 1.2 inches of precipitation.

On Eastern Avenue a tree fell into Morristown utility power lines after a straight line wind surge. Over 12,000 members of the Appalachian Electric Cooperative were without power as storms rolled through downtown Dandridge.

Hamblen County, Hawkins County, Jefferson County and Cocke County schools released students early due to the inclement weather.

Several other trees fell with minor damages reported in West Knoxville. At least one major powerline was down.

Greene County was under a tornado warning that lasted approximately two hours while other East Tennessee counties continued to be under a severe thunderstorm warning.

The National Weather Service encourages the spread of weather-related updates through their Spotter Weather Reports section on the website.

The NWS also advised that if a driver sees the road flooded they should turn around as they are at risk for drowning.

Tornado safety, according to the NWS, should be an ongoing effort that takes place before, after and during the defined seasons which take place in the Spring and Fall. One of the most common tornado safety rules includes taking shelter in a basement (or lowest foundational level), closet, bathroom or other most interior part of an establishment while staying away from windows.

The main reason for this precaution is to avoid debris from tornadoes which may have wind gusts anywhere from 65 – 318 miles per hour.

High winds increase the likelihood of being struck with a projectile object.

In every setting, persons should ensure they are covering their head and neck in case of falling debris.

If persons are in a vehicle, it is paramount that they seek grounded shelter as winds can pick up and throw vehicles. Seeking shelter under an underpass does not qualify as an adequate safety precaution.