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F2 tornado in Hot Spring County, Arkansas

Tornado September 26, 1996 · Hot Spring County, Arkansas

Rating

11.0 mi

Whole path

60 yd

Path width

Injuries

$2.2M

Damage as recorded

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

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 60 yards (0.03 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.

The wider storm

The tornado first touched down in Malvern. A packaging plant, car dealership and several other buildings in Malvern sustained damage. 15 people in Malvern received minor injuries. The tornado continued moving northeastward where it uprooted numerous trees along its path. The tornado exited Hot Spring County at 345 pm CDT. Damage along the track of the tornado was consistent with an F2 rating. Initial estimates placed the amount of damage at just over $2,000,000.

Began near Malvern (34.3700, -92.8000).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5574714. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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