F4 Tornado — Madison, Tennessee

2003-05-04 · near Denmark, Madison, Tennessee

Event narrative

The tornado touched down in the southwest part of Madison county near Denmark and tracked east through the downtown section of Jackson. The tornado continued to move east and eventually crossed into Henderson county. Nine people were killed in mobile homes between Denmark and Jackson and two other persons were killed in an apartment complex in Jackson. Numerous buildings were destroyed, particularly in downtown Jackson. St. Luke Episcopal Church, one of the oldest churches in Tennessee built in 1844, was destroyed. The Carl Perkins Civic Center, Tennessee Supreme Court Building, the downtown Jackson Post Office and National Guard Armory were damaged. Also damaged was the Proctor and Gamble factory where Pringles Potato Chips are made and a Coca-Cola bottling plant was also damaged. Denmark Elementary School and Jackson Middle School were destroyed and 24 other schools in the county were damaged. The tornado caused severe damage to the local power and water utilities across the county. One of eight stone balls that were set up to commemorate the eight fatalities from the Jackson tornado of January 17, 1999 was blown across a street.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.5167, -89.0333)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5356963. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.