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F3 tornado in Rutherford County, Tennessee

Tornado May 11, 2003 · Rutherford County, Tennessee

Rating

1.0 mi

Path length

400 yd

Path width

$1.8M

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 400 yards (0.23 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F3 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F3 meant severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned; the scale paired it with winds of 158–206 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

At least 18 homes were destroyed and dozens more were damaged from the tornado. There was considerable damage at the Roanoke Subdivision. The old Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, located on Holly Grove Road which is just northeast of Walter Hill, will have to be torn down because of the tornado damage. The church has been at that location for more than 100 years.

Began near Walterhill (35.9333, -86.7000).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

F3 Williamson County F1 Williamson County F1 Davidson County F1 Wilson County F1 Sumner County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5356642. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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