NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Mike Osborne) -- Nashville Electric Service struggled Monday morning to restore power to much of Metro after a strong storm pushed through the area Sunday evening.
Immediatly following the storm, NES reported more than 134,000 outages. Middle Tennessee Electric reported well over 34,000 without power, primarily in Williamson and Wilson counties.
At sunrise Monday, NES was reporting more than 96,000 homes and businesses remained in the dark. That number actually rose by mid-morning to well-over 102,000 reported outages.
NES says it's one of the worst outages in the company’s history.
The National Weather Service Office in Nashville reports wind speeds peaked during Sunday's storm in the mid-state from a low of 41 miles per hour in Lebanon to a high of 71 miles per hour in Nashville.
In a social media post late Monday morning, NES noted that it normally can rely on line-crews from outside the area for assistance with large outages. However, the company notes the pandemic has hampered the ability of neighboring utilities to volunteer their linemen.
Forecasters warn another round of storms is expected Monday evening. Damaging winds, small hail and flooding are possible. NWS Meteorologist Faith Borden tells WMOT Monday evening's storms are not expected to be as strong as those that battered the mid-state on Sunday.