Home / Tennessee / Dekalb

EF1 tornado in Dekalb County, Tennessee

Tornado May 6, 2024 · Dekalb County, Tennessee

EF1

Rating

3.2 mi

Path length

150 yd

Path width

$300K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 150 yards (0.09 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

An EF1 tornado touched down east of Highway 70 in northwest Smithville then moved east paralleling Allen Ferry Road. Numerous trees were broken, snapped, and uprooted along the road, and several farm buildings lost roofing. The tornado then curved southeast and caused the worst damage along Highway 56 north of Smith Road where dozens of trees were snapped and uprooted and a couple homes suffered significant roof, garage, and exterior wall damage. The tornado then lifted east of the highway. Damages are a rough estimate.

The wider storm

A broken line of thunderstorm tracked eastward across Middle Tennessee on May 6, 2024. With plenty of instability and modest shear, these thunderstorms became strong to severe, especially across eastern Middle Tennessee. Several reports of wind damage and large hail up to two inches in diameter were received. Two tornadoes were also confirmed. One was an EF-0 near Lebanon, and the other was an EF-1 near Smithville.

Began near Smithville (35.9719, -85.8581).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF0 Wilson County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1166058. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.