Aerial footage shows the extensive damage caused by a devastating tornado in Morgan County, Tennessee.

The Highway Patrol's Special Operations Aviation Unit, along with first responders and the Emergency Management Agency, worked to assess the widespread destruction caused by the twister, which carved a 17-mile path through the region on Friday, February 7.

Reports said the severe weather event struck on Thursday night around 8:27 pm, tragically claiming the lives of two individuals, a mother and daughter, and leaving three others injured.

The National Weather Service examined the damage and determined that an EF2 tornado with maximum winds of 135 mph caused the devastation.

This funnel-shaped weather phenomenon is believed to be the first deadly tornado of 2025 in the United States, although confirmation from the Storm Prediction Center is still pending.

A tornado is a violent rotating column of air that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground. It can cause significant damage to anything in its path.

It is created when warm, moist air collides with cold, dry air, causing instability in the atmosphere, leading to rotating air currents.