TornadoLookup

Home / Tennessee / Polk

EF1 tornado in Polk County, Tennessee

Tornado April 27, 2011 · Polk County, Tennessee

EF1
Rating
48.0 mi
Whole path
700 yd
Path width
20
Deaths
335
Injuries
$68.2M
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Catoosa County, Georgia → Hamilton County → Bradley County → Polk County → McMinn County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 700 yards (0.40 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

Ringgold-Apison Tornado. This intense tornado was weaker by the time it had crossed into Polk County--lowering to EF1 with 100 mph winds. The damage was mainly to trees in this area. It tracked across the northwest parts of Polk County and continued into southern McMinn County.

The wider storm

Favorable atmospheric conditions resulted in a deadly tornado outbreak across east Tennessee on the 27th. The thunderstorms produced more than 50 tornadoes across the east Tennessee area with 32 deaths and more than 200 injured. The tornadoes produced from light to heavy damage to hundreds of homes and businesses. Hail as large as baseballs was also reported.

Began near Benton Station (35.2180, -84.7030).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

50 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF4 Bledsoe County 4 deadEF4 Blount CountyEF4 Rhea CountyEF3 Greene County 6 deadEF3 Greene County 2 deadEF2 Bradley County 4 deadEF2 Johnson County 2 deadEF2 Hamilton CountyEF2 Monroe CountyEF2 Sequatchie CountyEF2 Marion CountyEF2 Monroe CountyEF2 Washington CountyEF2 Bradley CountyEF1 Bradley County 1 deadEF1 Hamilton CountyEF1 Cocke CountyEF1 Cocke CountyEF1 Hamilton CountyEF1 Hamilton CountyEF1 Hamilton CountyEF1 Knox CountyEF1 Marion CountyEF1 McMinn CountyEF1 Monroe CountyEF1 Monroe CountyEF1 Monroe CountyEF1 Rhea CountyEF1 Sequatchie CountyEF0 Bradley Countyand 20 more

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 300458. 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.