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F2 tornado in De Kalb County, Tennessee

Tornado January 24, 1997 · De Kalb County, Tennessee

Rating

7.3 mi

Path length

440 yd

Path width

$250K

Damage as recorded

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 440 yards (0.25 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 caused structural damage to 12 homes. 3 barns were also damaged along with many sheds and outbuildings. Most of the damage to homes were on Allens Ferry Rd., Cordell Love Rd. and Big Hurricane Rd. Tornado path width and length are approximations.

Began near Smithville (35.9700, -85.8500).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5589728. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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