F3 Tornado — Cumberland, Tennessee

2002-11-10 · near Crossville, Cumberland, Tennessee

Event narrative

An F3 tornado struck the Lake Tansi area and the southern sections of Crossville Sunday night, killing 4 people and injuring 18. 33 homes and mobile were destroyed and 128 homes and mobile homes were damaged. There was damage to one public building. The heaviest damage was along Lantana Drive, Dunbar Road, and Pigeon Ridge Road. 5 homes were damaged on U.S. Highway 127 and just south of Three Creek Road. One well built home lost an entire roof and several walls. The couple, their 3 children, and a guest, huddled under a mattress in the hallway. 50 acres of hardwoods were twisted and tangled. 100-year-old oak trees were snapped like wheat straws.Mobile homes on the Ballyhoo Campground and modular homes in Lake Tansi were destroyed. The four fatalities occurred in mobile homes. A couple was killed at 298 Lantana Drive when their mobile home was lifted off its foundation and placed on another trailer. Edward, 80 and Mary Laffer 75 were killed. Another couple died at 4040 Lone Wolf Circle. Robert, 55 and Sandy Scarbrough , 52, were killed and their bodies were found across Lake Mohawk.

Wider weather episode

11 tornadoes were reported in Middle Tennessee in one of the worst tornadic outbreaks ever in November. 8 people...and possibly a ninth victim...were killed in Middle Tennessee alone. Damage estimate for the tornadoes in Tennessee was placed at $160 million. Primary losses were due to houses and cars. The toll on government owned infrastructure is about $6 million. The federal government is expected to reimburse the state and affected counties for 75% of the costs of responding to the disaster. The FEMA Public Assistance Program has obligated more than $3.6 million to assist local governments. These funds will be used to reimburse local governments for debris removal, the repair of public buildings and utilities, and overtime paid to police officers, firefighters and other emergency personnel.More than 900 families across the state applied for storm aid. This was the worst tornado disaster since the April3-4 outbreak in 1974. The United States Small Business Administration has approved more than 9.7 million dollars in disaster loans to assist disaster victims with repairing their property or replacing lost personal items. The 20 counties that are eligible for disaster assistance to individuals, households, and businesses were: Anderson, Bedford, Bledsoe, Carroll, Coffee, Crockett, Cumberland, Fentress, Gibson, Henderson, Madison, Marshall, Montgomery, Morgan, Roane, Rutherford, Scott, Sumner and Tipton and Van Buren.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.9000, -85.1000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5322212. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.