The Way Home star Chyler Leigh has given fans an update on her family after her hometown of Nashville was destroyed in the wake of Winter Storm Fern. The Hallmark actress wrote on social media that although she had “prepped as well as I could for this ice storm,” she was struck by how isolated they felt in the past few days.
“I’ve been without power since Sunday morning. I’ve had a multitude of large trees and limbs fall in my yard (luckily no structural damage). It honestly sounded like mini explosions as the actual scene unfolded. Trees crashing as they succumbed to the weight of the ice. Very eerie,” she wrote in a series of Instagram posts.
The state of Tennessee has confirmed eight weather-related fatalities since the storm began in mid-January, leaving large regions across America under feet of snow. At one point, the storm encompassed nearly 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of length from the Mexico–United States border into Canada, with 24 U.S. state governors issuing emergency declarations in response.
As of January 28, 62 fatalities had been confirmed due to the storm.
© Variety via Getty Images“We toughed it out,” Chyler continued, praising her two youngest girls who “took it like true champs”.
“I will say as a mom, it was a lot…. I kept my cool but to say it was stressful is an understatement,” she continued, sharing that she had “watched a gazillion videos about simple hacks to help in the midst of blackouts in frigid temps” and thanking those influencers who had shared their tips and tricks.
Chyler said that two days before her message she “could see my breath in the house” so they finally made the decision to leave their home and have found respite “in a warm safe house with power”.
“I’ve been filled with gratitude within my heart. I take nothing for granted,” she continued adding: “I am keeping all of us in the midst of these circumstances in my heart, wishing safety and comfort. To those of you who have suffered loss, including ALL of the cities across the map regarding the storm, my empathy and thoughts are with you.”
© Peter StranksChyler and her husband Nathan West have three children – son Noah Wilde, 23, and daughters Taelyn Leigh, 20, and 17-year-old Anniston.
Others in Nashville also impacted included Reese Witherspoon, who shared on social media: “As a Nashville native, I have never seen this amount of destruction in my hometown. This aftermath of this storm is keeping 200,000 – 220,000 people without power since Saturday. People are freezing. Eight people have died. The roads are impassible. The power is out in hospitals and shelters. People are freezing.”
© AFP via Getty ImagesOlympic gymnast Shawn Johnson East revealed she had moved in with her parents after “a tree took out our electrical panel”. However, her parents’ home also lost power.
“Going on four days now without power and not an end in sight yet. Now my parents [power] just went out so we have to [make a] game plan of where to go. Four adults, three kids and six animals,” she wrote.
“Even fireplaces aren’t keeping up or people are running out of supplies or wood,” she claimed. “We don’t have generators. Not super common in Nashville. Will for sure be the first thing we get when we get through this. Generator and cleaning up 100 tires.”
Read the full article here
