F4 Tornado — Rutherford, Tennessee

1997-01-24 · near Murfreesboro, Rutherford, Tennessee

Event narrative

This was one of those extraordinary cases where the National Weather Service had a 41 minute lead time on a tornado warning . The F4 tornado struck the Southridge Subdivision, near Barfield, TN, at 503 PM. The tornado caused 18 injuries and 4.7 million dollars in property damages. One person had to be hospitalized overnight. The last time an F4 tornado struck Middle Tennessee was on May 18, 1995. The path length of the tornado was 6.5 miles with its intensity reaching F4 and its maximum width of 300 yards.44 homes were destroyed and 47 other homes were damaged in the Barfield area. There was also damage to a Middle School, Food Lion Supermarket and to the Chalet Apartments.The tornado first touched down on Yeargan Road, about 6 miles southwest of Murfreesboro, with an intensity of F1 and path width of 100 yards. At this location, a sheet metal roof was peeled back off a barn and a couple of trees were broken off. Also close by, a trailer was lifted off its foundation and overturned. Several trees were uprooted in the area. The tornado proceeded northeast and increased to F2 intensity with a width of 300 yards. As it struck the community of Barfield, an entire roof was lifted off a house, several homes were partially destroyed, and a barn was totally destroyed. The tornado crossed the West Fork of the Stones River and struck the Southridge Subdivision. At this time the tornado increased to a maximum intensity of F4 with its width remaining at 300 yards. About half a dozen homes were totally destroyed. The tornado then struck a large apartment complex just west of U.S. Hwy 231 on the south side of Murfreesboro. The tornado produced some structural damage and extensive roof damage as it weakened to F1 intensity and its width decreased to 150 yards. The tornado then crossed U.S. Hwy 231 and the Indian Wells Golf Course. Large trees were uprooted and structural damage occurred to several businesses as it approached I-24. The tornado continued moving to the northeast across I-24 snapping and uprooting trees as it narrowed to 50 yards wide. On the southeast side of Murfreesboro near the intersection of Elam Road and U.S. Hwy 41, and near Brandyville Road and East Rutherford Boulevard, the tornado uprooted numerous trees and damaged the roofs of several homes. It was at this point the track of the tornado ended as it lifted back into the clouds. Newspaper accounts told stories of people going to a basement, or an interior room of a house such as a bathroom or closet for safety. The low casualties from this tornado indicated all the preparedness activities of the National Weather Service for many years certainly paid off.

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Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5589735. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.