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F3 tornado in Izard County, Arkansas

Tornado March 5, 1996 · Izard County, Arkansas

F3
Rating
46.5 mi
Whole path
150 yd
Path width
2
Injuries
$2.6M
Damage as recorded

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 150 yards (0.09 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.

The wider storm

The tornado first touched down 7 miles southwest of Melbourne. It moved east-northeastward, passing near the small community of Lunerburg, where it damaged and destroyed some homes and other structures. The tornado continued moving east-northeastward and hit the town of Mount Pleasant. A number of homes, mobile homes and other buildings were either damaged or destroyed. 2 people in Mount Pleasant sustained minor injuries. Numerous trees and power lines were also blown down along the tornado's path. The tornado exited Izard County about 3 1/2 miles northeast of Mount Pleasant at 815 pm.Damage along the track of the tornado was mostly F2. However, some structural damage was consistent with an F3 rating. Initial estimates place the amount of damage at around $1,000,000.An assessment of structural and other damage in Izard County revealed:17 homes damaged; 5 completely destroyed13 mobile homes damaged; 6 completely destroyed24 outbuildings damaged; 10 completely destroyed10 barns damaged; 6 completely destroyed3 chicken houses destroyed2 to 3 head of cattle killed

Began near Melbourne (36.0000, -92.0000).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5548863. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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