Severe weather continues through the weekend across Middle Tennessee after 'long night'

Tornado sirens hummed throughout the night and into Thursday morning across Middle Tennessee creating plenty of chaos and now flooding concerns.

Gov. Bill Lee issued a state of emergency Wednesday leading up to the powerful storms which have resulted in several deaths, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.

The National Weather Service announced significant flooding risks through the weekend with the Nashville area getting drenched with up to 8 inches of rain with much of Williamson County under a similar forecast. Rounds of heavy rain are expected through Sunday.

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Early Thursday morning around 5 a.m., Williamson County Schools issued an urgent message indicating school closures across the district due to the “storms overnight,” which “left road debris and power outages in areas of the county.” The NWS had issued a warning expiring at 6:30 a.m. for wind gusts up to 60 MPH and severe thunderstorms in the area as well as potential hail damage.

Around 5:15 a.m., the Franklin Special District shared its closure due to the severe weather.

According to the Franklin Police Department, several traffic signals in the area of Columbia Avenue were down Thursday morning due to having no power in the area. Power outages were reported throughout the county with Middle Tennessee Electric indicating powerless areas in Fairview, Franklin and Thompson's Station. 

Several ongoing flooding issues are occurring around the Fairview area, including Chester Road, Forest Glen, Sleepy Hollow Road and South Harpeth Road between Pinewood Road per the Williamson County Emergency Management Agency.

Though Williamson County isn’t directly included, a flash flood warning is in effect until 10:30 a.m. Thursday for neighboring Davidson, Cheatham, Macon, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner and Wilson counties.

This story will be updated as more weather news becomes available.