TornadoLookup

Home / Arkansas / Prairie

F2 tornado in Prairie County, Arkansas

Tornado October 18, 2004 · Prairie County, Arkansas

F2
Rating
19.0 mi
Whole path
600 yd
Path width
$12.2M
Damage as recorded

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 600 yards (0.34 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F2 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F2 meant considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted; the scale paired it with winds of 113–157 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

The F2 tornado moved from Lonoke County into Prairie County about 6.1 miles west-southwest of the Fairmount Community. The tornado gained intensity as it tracked to the east-northeast and then to the east as it approached the Stuttgart Airport. The tornado continued to track to the east before lifting east-northeast of the town of Ulm. The maximum damage was observed at the airport where numerous planes were damaged or destroyed. Damage at the airport was estimated at just over 12 million dollars. Also, most of the hangers and other buildings on the airport property sustained damage. Elsewhere along the path of the tornado, many power poles were snapped off or blown down. Metal irrigation pipe was carried for a mile and deposited in the field. Numerous outbuildings and farm shops were destroyed or damaged. A combine was destroyed and another was badly damaged. A farm tractor was destroyed as well. In the town of Ulm, a number of trees had large limbs broken and there was minor damage to house roofs. Underpinning was also blown out from under several mobile homes. The tornado weakened considerably before reaching Ulm.

Began near Fairmont (34.5667, -91.7000).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5426201. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.