F3 tornado — Shelby and Fayette County, Tennessee

F3 tornado in Shelby and Fayette County, Tennessee

Tornado November 27, 1994 · Shelby and Fayette County, Tennessee

Rating

16.0 mi

Path length

200 yd

Path width

Deaths

Injuries

$50.0M

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F3 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F3 meant severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned; the scale paired it with winds of 158–206 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

The tornado started just southwest of Germantown and moved northeast through the eastern part of Shelby County and then continued into the northwest part of Fayette County. Three persons were killed in Germantown when the tornado struck a home where 16 people had gathered for a family reunion. Twenty-five persons were injured in the Germantown area. Overall, 28 homes were destroyed and 300 other homes were damaged. Houston High School was badly damaged and a nearby church sustained significant damage. Thirty utility poles were blown down along with a several trees. Two mobile homes were destroyed in Fayette County. M44H,M11H,M48H

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 10348864. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

F3 tornado in Shelby and Fayette County, Tennessee

What the National Weather Service wrote

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