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F3 tornado in Woodruff County, Arkansas

Tornado May 4, 2003 · Woodruff County, Arkansas

F3
Rating
27.0 mi
Whole path
300 yd
Path width

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through White County → Woodruff County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 300 yards (0.17 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

A strong tornado moved out of White County and into Woodruff County about 4.8 miles west-southwest of Gregory. The tornado continued to strengthen as it moved northeastward before reaching Patterson and McCrory. Widespread trees and power poles were knocked down along the tornado path. Numerous homes and buildings sustained major structural damage. The tornado then turned more to the east and moved through Pumpkin Bend where several homes and other outbuildings were either damaged or destroyed. A number of trees and power lines were also downed. The tornado continued to track eastward out of Woodruff County, about 3.5 miles east of Pumpkin Bend, and moved into Cross County (Memphis County Warning Area).

Began near Gregory (35.1167, -91.4167).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5360944. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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