Witness Tennessee woman's heart-pounding footage of close encounter with deadly tornado in Clarksville

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Tennessee woman captures close look at deadly Clarksville tornado

A Tennessee resident said she had a close encounter with the tornado that touched down in Clarksville, Tennessee, on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023.

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The eyewitness account of a Tennessee woman who had a close brush with a deadly tornado that ravaged Clarksville is a chilling reminder of the devastating power of natural disasters.

On Saturday, Ashley Knox captured footage of the EF-3 twister whipping debris into the sky, describing it as a "scary experience today at work" on TikTok.

"We were at work, and without any warnings, it got dark outside and windy," she recalled. "Within 30 seconds of the tornado alerts on our phones, it was in our parking lot."

MASSIVE CLEANUP UNDERWAY AFTER TENNESSEE EF-3 TORNADO AS STORIES OF SURVIVAL EMERGE

Footage captured by Ashley Knox shows a close view of the EF-3 tornado on Saturday, as it whipped debris into the sky. 

(Ashley Knox via Storyful)

According to the National Weather Service, damage survey teams from its Nashville, Paducah and Louisville offices determined that the tornado traveled 43 miles across Montgomery County in Tennessee and Todd and Logan counties in Kentucky.

The tornado was on the ground for over an hour and resulted in the loss of three lives, including one child. More than 60 people were also treated for injuries, the NWS said.

Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts said the tornado warning system sirens went off as planned when the NWS issued the Tornado Warning.

"I called 911 around 1:30 (p.m.)," he said. "They said that I was the first person to call and report it. It dropped down just in a matter of seconds."

NWS surveyors are continuing to assess the damage caused by a tornado outbreak Saturday of at least 11 confirmed tornadoes in Tennessee and Kentucky.