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F4 tornado in Clark County, Arkansas

Tornado March 1, 1997 · Clark County, Arkansas

F4
Rating
51.0 mi
Whole path
1,056 yd
Path width
6
Deaths
111
Injuries
$122.0M
Damage as recorded

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 1,056 yards (0.60 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F4 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F4 meant devastating damage: well-built houses levelled; the scale paired it with winds of 207–260 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 moved out of Nevada County and into Clark County approximately 6.5 miles south of Okolona at 220 pm CST. The tornado continued moving northeastward, causing considerable tree damage and downing a number of power lines. The first fatality occurred along I-30, several miles southwest of Arkadelphia where a vehicle was blown off the highway and the driver was killed. A truck-stop was also destroyed near this location as well. At 242 pm CST, the tornado moved into the City of Arkadelphia. A number of homes and businesses in Arkadelphia were either damaged or destroyed. 5 people in Arkadelphia were also killed. The tornado continued to move northeastward, knocking down more trees and power lines, as well as damaging more homes. The tornado exited Clark County approximately 3.5 miles northeast of Arkadelphia at 247 pm CST.Damage along the track of the tornado was mostly F2 to F3. However, some timber and structural damage along the path was consistent with an F4 rating.

Began near Okolona (33.9000, -93.3300).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5592919. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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