Consider adding wind to your worry list if you haven’t already.
“Severe thunderstorm winds can be just as strong as EF-1 tornadoes [86-110 mph],” said Anthony Cavallucci, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Morristown, Tenn. “They are also much more common than tornadoes in East Tennessee.”
Four wind events in the last seven months have brought home the point:
A 90 mph wind on Nov. 28, 2016, turned a small fire in the Chimney Tops Trail area of the Great Smoky Mountains into a wildfire that burned 17,000-plus acres. That blaze destroyed or damaged some 2,400 structures, killed 14 people and injured 134 in Sevier County, Tenn.
A wind later classified as a tornado caused millions of dollars in damage in the Athens area on Nov. 29. A May 4 wind reaching speeds of 100 mph in some places added to the suffering in Sevier County, causing $1.5 million in damage.