Clarksville, TN – Residents of the City of Clarksville have been hammered by severe thunderstorms in the late afternoon hours over the previous two days.
On July 4th, the storms hit around 5:00pm and knocked out power to over 7,500 CDE Lightband customers on both sides of Memorial Drive, Richview Road, Indian Hills Drive, Craigmont Boulevard, Fairway Drive, and the Hilldale area. By the next morning CDE was reporting approximately 300 people were still without power. That was until a new line of storms rolled through around 4:00pm on July 5th knocking out electrical power to even more customers. As of the time of publication approximately 351 CDE Lightband customers are still without power.
The July 5th storms were intense to say the least, I watched from my front porch as good-sized trees were bending at extreme angles in the ferocious winds, my neighbors flagpole was blown free and into a nearby tree. Once I got out and about. I was surprised that there was not more damage based on the ferocity of the winds that I saw.
Reports came in throughout the afternoon of smoke rising from homes across the city, many of these were the result of power lines burning including behind a home on Crossland Avenue. A small shed with electrical service was the source. Gradually the insulation was burning off the electrical line rising gradually from the shed up towards the utility pole.
Over at the intersection of Greenwood Avenue and Clark Street a fallen tree branch that was likely struck by lightning lay across the sidewalk and out into Greenwood Avenue. It had clipped the street sign on the utility pole as it fell.
Further down Clark Street a large tree lay across the roadway totally blocking traffic. After helping to clear enough room for a single vehicle to pass the fallen tree, I headed over to check out the damage at Austin Peay State University.
On College Street I saw two Austin Peay State University pickup trucks on the sidewalk in front of the Sundquist Science Building, four Austin Peay State University employee were surveying the damage. Large strips of metal flashing lay on the lawn, where just a few feet away a tree smashed a section of the fence surrounding the University President’s home at Archwood, another tree lay toppled in the in the front yard of the historic home. Communication Department Employee Sherry Koontz-Howell reported that a large satellite dish had been ripped off the Music and Mass Communications Building. Over at Harned Hall a railing on the third floor was mostly stripped away, while the Trahern building lost windows. The Medusa’s Hair Dew sculpture which was located in the fountain between the Sundquist and Trahern buildings was also damaged. The Felix G. Woodward Library suffered some water damage. I also received reports of scattered trees knocked down all across University.
This was not the entirety of the damage to Clarksville suffered from the storms, but is sufficient to highlight its severity.
Photo Gallery
Emergency Contact numbers
During a storm. You may need to contact your utility providers in the event of an emergency. Here is a list of some of those numbers.
- For down trees in the roadway – in the city contact The Clarksville Street Department at 931.624.1208, for traffic signals or signage call 931.320.1099, for debris pick up please email debris@cityofclarksville.com. For county residents just dial 911.
- For electrical issues or power outages – contact CDE Lightband at 931.648.8151, or CEMC at 800.987.2362.
- For Gas or Water issues – After hours contact Clarksville Gas and Water at (931) 645-0116, East Montgomery Utility District at 931.217.8069, Woodlawn Utility District at 931.552.2921, or the Cunningham Utility District at 931.387.3387.
- Telephone and Internet issues – contact CDE Lightband at 931.648.8151, Charter Communications at 888.438.2427, AT&T at 877.737.2478, or Comcast at 800.934.6489.
- In an emergency you can always dial 911
