So here's the short of it,

Bad weather tonight in Chattanooga!

And here's the long

The weather was blustery and threatening this morning in Nashville.  Since I was in a dorm room, I didn't really have access to television.  My weather app was showing a band of really bad weather headed toward Nashville and another one right behind both headed toward Chattanooga.  Staying through the end of the conference would have had us driving home right in the middle of that weather.  And if we tried to wait it out, we'd be driving home in the dark.  So we left a little before noon.  Even with getting ahead of it we were buffeted by the wind and it was NOT a fun drive home.

The weather was right behind us!  Hamilton County made a great call and did an early dismissal (30 minutes early) to make sure all the kids were home before the bad weather hit.  And all the after school activities and child care were cancelled!  The storm came and did it ever come!  Funnel clouds were sighted all over the place.  Thank goodness no one was hurt, but there was some property damage.  Apparently a funnel cloud touched down on the Chickamauga Dam causing several cars to lose control - ending up in a 7 car wreck, which was not awfully serious, but caused some bridge damage.  The bridge will be closed tomorrow, making getting to work to or from Hixson an adventure for those who usually use the bridge.

All is well, but there sure were some tense moments.  Right now it looks like the threat of severe weather is gone, and we can rest.

This picture was taken by Zachary Lewis.
It was taken at the Northgate Mall from the Outback Steakhouse.
I took it from the WDEF News page http://wdef.com/news/10_26_10_storm_pictures/10/2010