A powerful line of storms raced across much of the South on Tuesday night, turning over trucks, flattening houses and killing more than 50 people.
At least 26 of the fatalities were in Tennessee, where a pair of storms cut a 140-mile swath across the state.
Weather experts say it was the deadliest storm to hit middle Tennessee in 75 years.
In its wake, the tornadoes left hundred-year-old hardwoods snapped off at the trunk. Shingles and insulation are wrapped around the branches of trees that remain.
Macon County, 60 miles northeast of Nashville, was hardest hit. At least 10 residents have been confirmed dead. It was all the neighbors could do to start picking up the pieces this morning.
A massive front-end loader had to help Laura Pedigo clear the pile of metal and shards of two-by-fours blocking her driveway.
She had spent the evening at the county hospital with dozens of others who were injured or seeking shelter. Wednesday morning, Pedigo returned to see her two-story stucco house blown off its foundation by 30 feet. Her husband rode out the raging storms in the closet.
Blake Farmer reports from member station WPLN in Nashville.
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