Strong thunderstorms again blow through Chattanooga area

A 5 p.m. storm moves into downtown Chattanooga Sunday with high winds and heavy rain.
A 5 p.m. storm moves into downtown Chattanooga Sunday with high winds and heavy rain.

Strong thunderstorms rolled through the Chattanooga area Sunday afternoon for the second day in a row.

The storm brought rains and heavy winds, leading to numerous reports of downed trees and power lines.

Calls for downed power lines came in from across the county, but mostly in northern areas.

During and immediately after the storm, EPB's power outage map showed significant outages in Hixson, Soddy-Daisy and Sale Creek areas.

Those same areas saw significant loss of power on Saturday as well, but many customers saw their power restored through EPB's Smart Grid, which automatically reroutes power around problem areas to prevent outages, according to the power company's website.

As of 11 a.m., only 200 customers were still without power after Saturday's storm. It's not clear how many outages are a result of Sunday's storm

Surrounding counties also saw several reports of downed trees, National Weather Service meteorologist Charles Dalton said. And several intersections were flooded along Highway 58 in Meigs County, just south of Decatur, Dalton said. That area saw about two to three inches of rain on Sunday.

Hamilton County saw the same amount of rain in some areas, primarily in the northwest part of the county along the Sequatchie County line.

Dalton said another round of storms was due late Sunday night and into Monday morning and afternoon, possibly continuing into early evening hours. Storms will mainly come through the northern half of the Tennessee Valley, closer to Knoxville, though Dalton said he wouldn't be surprised if a few pop up in the Southern half of the Tennessee Valley, as well.

He said the main concern during these storms is high speed wind, but with warm temperatures and storms forming and sometimes quickly dissipating, there isn't always enough time to generate hail, he said.

Which is why "during this time of year in this part of the country, wind is kind of the big concern," he said.

Contact staff writer Rosana Hughes at rhughes@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327 with tips or story ideas. Follow her on Twitter @HughesRosana.

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