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EF1 tornado in Rutherford County, Tennessee

Tornado March 15, 2025 · Rutherford County, Tennessee

EF1

Rating

4.5 mi

Whole path

300 yd

Path width

$1.0M

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Bedford County → Rutherford County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 300 yards (0.17 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

This narrative continues the EF-1 tornado that began in far northwest Bedford County. Once the tornado moved into far southwest Rutherford County, trees were downed on Threet Road as well as a few outbuildings damaged. More tree damage was observed as the tornado approached Williams Road. The tornado crossed Midland Road and finally lifted near Jones Road before reaching Highway 231. Damages are a rough estimate.

The wider storm

A potent storm system brought multiple rounds of thunderstorms and severe weather to Middle Tennessee on March 15, 2025. The main risk for severe weather was associated with a line of thunderstorms that tracks east across Middle Tennessee during the afternoon and evening hours. This line produced one EF-1 tornado near Christiana. As this line moved towards the Cumberland Plateau, it strengthened and caused wind damage in numerous locations. Some of the worst wind damage was found in Palmer where an estimated swath of 95 mph winds uprooted trees and caused structural damage. Numerous downed trees and structural damage was also found in White, Fentress, and Overton counties. These multiple rounds of rain also caused flooding issues with flash flooding and reports of road closures reported across Middle Tennessee. This heavy rain also caused several rivers to rise into flood stage for days after this event.

Began near Newtown (35.6770, -86.5130).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1233615. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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