High Winds Cause School Closings, Damage and Power Outages

High winds overnight Sunday night are causing problems across the Tennessee Valley.

As of 6 a.m., the Electric Power Board tells NewsChannel 9 that about 14,000 customers are without power. An E-P-B spokeswoman tells us it's not clear when all power will be restored.

In one case, a tree fell on a steel pole near the McDonald's on East Brainerd Road, causing widespread outages in that area.

Schools in Scottsboro, Alabama are closed due to the high winds. Etowah City Schools, Catoosa County Public Schools, and Polk County Schools have also been closed, as well as Kids station Christian Learning Center, in Catoosa, Ooltewah Adventist School, Bright Beginnings Academy and Standifer Gap 7th Day Adventist School. Lookout Valley Middle/High School is also closed today in Hamilton County.

We are tracking reports of trees down in Dade and Walker Counties, as well as the Hampton Creek subdivision in Hamilton County, and in Ooltewah and Collegedale.

Hamilton County dispatch tells us the Brainerd and East Brainerd areas are a mess, with debris in the roadway, power lines and poles down, and fallen trees everywhere.

Depend on NewsChannel 9 to keep you posted on the air and on the web.