The Associated Press
GATLINBURG, Tenn. — Rangers in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park helped to rescue a 53-year-old hiker who was struck by a falling tree during a storm and has multiple injuries.
The park service said in a news release on Friday that Nathan Lipsom of Cambridge, Mass., was hiking on Low Gap Trail on Thursday when the storm hit around 4 p.m. A ranger discovered the injured hiker around 11:30 a.m. on Friday.
Due to the number of downed trees in the park that blocked trails, a helicopter from North Carolina airlifted him around 6:45 p.m. EDT Friday. He was sent to Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C.
A National Weather Service crew confirmed that an EF-1 tornado hit the Cosby area on Thursday.