According to Greg Barrow, Stewart County Coroner, the woman from Clarksville was camping at Piney Campground in Dover.
Her husband called for help around 11:50 a.m. Thursday. He stepped inside his tent and heard a loud boom. When he looked outside he saw his wife lying underneath a tree.
When emergency crews arrived at the scene the woman was pronounced dead. Her identity had not been released.
Authorities said she was presumably struck by lightning. No one else was hurt. There were other people camping in the area at the time.
The investigation was ongoing, and an autopsy has been set to confirm her cause of death.
Officials at the Piney Campground said safety is always a priority. Safety officers and officials monitor alerts from the National Weather Service and do their best to keep campers updated on the weather. They also said campers need to take precautions.
"If the weather starts getting bad, get off the water, that is the first place lightning could strike" said Rickey Daughtery, Piney Campground Manager. "High winds is another thing we keep an eye out for. Look before you go out. If there looks like there are thunderstorms, maybe you need to keep your family at home."
NOAA reports that the last lightning fatality in Tennessee was in June of 2007.
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