At least six people are dead, including a child, and dozens more injured after monster tornado ripped across Tennessee – destroying homes, tossing trucks, downing power lines and causing a huge EXPLOSION

At least six people are dead across two Tennessee counties and nearly two dozen injured after a gut-wrenching video posted to social media showed multiple twisters barreling through the south on Saturday.

Residents reported seeing twisters in Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. Those states and Alabama are under a tornado watch that is expected to last at least until the end of the day.

Montgomery County, Tennessee officials confirmed that at least three people have died, including a child, and 23 more were being treated for injuries at a local hospital as a result of the storm.

In a separate report, The Nashville Emergency Operation Center said in a post on a social media account that three people were killed by severe storms. 

Multiple municipalities have reported injuries, roofs torn off homes and knocked out power to thousands in Tennessee on Saturday as a line of severe storms ravaged the state.

Several people posted videos of the tornados across the South to social media, including one poster on X who saw a twister from a wrestling school in Madison that caused a huge explosion.

A man in Clarksville – which is in Montgomery County – surveyed the damage to his home and said he had heard people were confirmed dead. 

‘We’re safe but there are confirmed deaths and lives forever destroyed….my friend lost his home..it went right past our house and straight to my friends house,’ Vincent Welshman wrote. 

In North Rutherford, another man surveying the damage said the twisters had destroyed a park and a fire department. 

A reporter in Clarksville documented how the chaos had spread across multiple homes, businesses and a Pizza Hut parking lot. 

Police and firefighters in Clarksville were responding to multiple reports of damage in the northern part of the city, which is north of Nashville near the Kentucky state line. 

Photos posted by the local fire department on social media showed destroyed houses with debris strewn in the lawns, a tractor trailer flipped on its side on a highway and insulation ripped out of building walls.

‘This is devastating news and our hearts are broken for the families of those who lost loved ones,’ said Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts in a statement. 

‘The city stands ready to help them in their time of grief.’

No other information about the victims was immediately available Saturday.

Residents were asked to stay at home while first responders evaluated the situation. In a briefing shared on social media, Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts said there was extensive damage. 

‘So please, if you need help, call 911 and help will be on the way immediately. But if you can, please stay home. Do not get out on the roads. Our first responders need time and space,’ he said.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that a tornado touched down around 2 p.m. 

The statement said that there were no confirmed injuries or missing people but that it was continuing to search the area.

A shelter was set up at a local high school.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said he and his wife, Maria, were praying for all Tennesseans who had been affected by the storms.

‘We mourn the lives lost and ask that everyone continue to follow guidance from local and state officials,’ Lee said in a statement.

Shanika Washington said that as soon as she heard the storm sirens going off in her Clarksville neighborhood, she took her children, aged 5 and 10, to a windowless bathroom in the basement of her townhouse.

‘The lights were flickering, so I knew it was somewhere close in the vicinity,’ she said. ‘I just kept praying to God as it was going on. It was very terrifying and scary.’

During their 20 harrowing minutes in the bathroom, Washington hovered over her children as a protective shield.

‘The back door absolutely did fly open, and you just heard a bunch of wind,’ she said. ‘The blinds and stuff were like shaking really bad. I could tell that we were dead smack in the middle of a storm.’

When she came out of the bathroom, she looked out of a window and saw the destruction: Debris swept onto cars that had their windows broken out. Shutters ripped from homes. 

Some roofs were ripped off townhouses. Air conditioning units and backyard grills were tossed like toys, and wooden dividers between townhouses were missing.

Because the power in the area was out, Washington took her children to a hotel for the night.

‘I´m still shaken up a little bit, so I probably won’t get much sleep tonight,’ Washington said. ‘I´m still trying to just kind of like process it all.’

Clarksville city spokesman Jimmy Settle said in an email that he didn’t have any further information on the number of structures damaged or possible injuries.

Allie Phillips, who lives in Clarksville, said she was grabbing lunch when she began receiving notifications of the tornado that was quickly approaching her neighborhood.

‘It was excruciating watching the live stream and not knowing if my house was still there,’ she said. 

‘When we finally decided to leave, the road to my home was shut down because so many power lines were on the road and we had to take a detour.’

Phillips said her home survived with minimal damage – noting that her daughter’s toys were banged up and that a neighbor’s dog kennel hit the back of her home – but she was saddened to see that her neighbor’s house was missing a roof and a home up the block had all but disappeared.

‘This doesn’t happen enough that you’re ever prepared for it,’ she said.

The National Weather Service issued multiple tornado warnings in Tennessee, and said it planned to survey an area where an apparent tornado hit in Kentucky.

About 85,000 electricity customers were without power in Tennessee on Saturday night, according to PowerOutage.us.

Weakley County in Tennessee, about 110 miles northwest of Nashville, reported ‘several’ injuries. 

Damage to homes and downed power lines were reported in counties in Kentucky as well. 

Already, thousands have been reported without power, according to Weather.com.

A large swathe of the Eastern United States was expected to be battered by ‘severe’ storms as gale force winds, torrential rain and snow blow in over the weekend.

Multi threat alerts are already in place across several states, with 1,200 miles from the Gulf Coast to the Canadian border expected to be hit by adverse weather.

The storm came nearly two years to the day after the National Weather Service recorded 41 tornadoes through a handful of states, including 16 in Tennessee and eight in Kentucky. A total of 81 people died in Kentucky alone. 

Winds of up to 60mph could disrupt air travel, while snow and ice could cause further travel chaos on the Monday morning commute. 

The storm began brewing Friday night, drawing from leftover energy from a deadly ‘atmospheric river’ earlier this week which left at least two dead in the Pacific Northwest.

It will grow in strength and expand into Saturday, with the wettest and windiest weather felt Sunday into Monday before plunging temperatures could turn precipitation into snow.

Howling winds could bring down trees, disrupt flights and cause power outages when they blow in across New England on Sunday.

The storm is due to reach peak strength by the afternoon as it engulfs much of the east, with gusts picking up considerable compared to Saturday where the gales will be concentrated more in the south.

By Sunday night the winds could whip up to 60mph across New England and coastal portions of New York and New Jersey.

The public has been warned to secure any outdoor holiday decorations, while those traveling by air could see delays or cancellations. 

‘Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects and make driving difficult, especially for drivers of high profile vehicles,’ the National Weather Service said,

‘Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicle.’

Almost all of eastern parts of the US are set to be lashed by heavy rain, with some area to be drenched by up to three inches.

Forecasters warned flash flooding is likely, with parts along the East Coast expected to be soaked by at least an inch of rain.

Downpours are expected to begin in the Midwest and Mississippi Valley before sweeping eastwards. 

The rain is due to begin building from Saturday and continue into Sunday, possibly affecting some NFL games in Maryland and New Jersey.

A surge of warmth which began in the northern tier will swing across the east bringing temperatures to 20-30 or more above average meaning most precipitation is likely to fall as rain.