SCRANTON, Pa. — Stacy Lange caught up with former Newswatch 16 reporter Allen Vickers who was in Nashville when the storms hit overnight.
We caught up with Allen Vickers over Facetime while he waited on a delayed flight inside a hectic Nashville International Airport.
"It was kind of shocking to be here just for one night to see that type of damage."
Allen was heading home from a quick business trip to the Music City. During that same 24 hours, Nashville and the surrounding region were hit with multiple tornadoes that destroyed dozens of buildings and has so far claimed 22 lives.
The storms hit in the middle of the night. Allen was staying at a hotel about 10 miles from downtown Nashville.
"Then around 12, my phone went off, the TV went off, and then the hotel staff came to the room where I was staying and said, 'We need everyone to come downstairs, there is a tornado in the area, we just want to make sure everyone is safe,''' Allen recalled.
He and all the other guests were ushered into the hotel's lobby, where they watched the storm coverage well into the morning.
Allen heard heavy wind and hail outside.
"It was kind of scary. I didn't really get any sleep last night. I was watching the weather reports. I feel bad, definitely, for all the people who lost their houses, people lost their lives. It's just a sad situation."
Weather officials are still assessing the damage in Tennessee, but early reports say the Nashville area may have been hit by multiple EF3 tornadoes.