EF3 Tornado — Lincoln, Tennessee

2014-04-28 · near Lincoln, Lincoln, Tennessee

Event narrative

A tornado touched down in extreme southern Lincoln County, just north of the state line, near the intersection of Jeans Road and Old Quick Road. The tornado produced mainly tree damage as it moved northeast across Lincoln Road, but tore off portions of the roofs of houses along Smith Mill Road. It continued moving northeast and intensified near the intersection of Old Lincoln Road and Tipton Lane where it produced its most significant damage. Three houses were almost completely destroyed, leaving only a few interior walls standing. This is also the area where two fatalities occurred, as their mobile home was flipped and destroyed, with its frame having been thrown approximately 125 yards across the street. At another nearby house along Smith Mill Road, even interior walls were collapsed and pushed (though left partially intact). The cars In the attached garage were pushed 10 to 15 feet. A nearby barn was completely destroyed and a nearby RV was rolled approximately 10 yards. The tornado tore off much of the roof from South Lincoln Elementary school, dragged a school bus approximately 75 yards, and caused it to impact the front wall of the school. Additional damage was incurred to homes just northeast of the school, where large sections of roofing were removed. Some of the most widespread damage occurred along Price Lane where multiple mobile homes were rolled as much as 50 yards and completely destroyed. Single family homes had exterior walls collapsed and roofs removed with electrical transmission towers completely toppled. The tornado continued to produce tree and roof damage as it moved northeast across Corders Crossroads and Crystal Springs Roads. Houses were pushed off their foundations near the intersection of Howell Mill Road and Crystal Springs Road, and nearby truss electrical transmission towers were crumpled.

The tornado appeared to weaken somewhat northeast of this location as it continued to snap multiple trees and produce minor roof damage. It broadened upon crossing Highway 64 and moved along Smithland Road where it snapped hundreds more trees and a few power poles. The tornado crossed the Elk river, toppled more trees, and produced minor roof damage in the Champ community.

Wider weather episode

A tornado outbreak occurred during the late afternoon and evening across the central Tennessee Valley on the 28th. Several cyclic supercells produced tornadoes, some of which were strong. There were also reports of flash flooding, especially in urban areas of Lincoln and Franklin counties, where up to 5 inches fell within two hours.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.0066, -86.5497)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 505228. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.