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F2 tornado in Van Buren County, Arkansas

Tornado March 1, 1997 · Van Buren County, Arkansas

Rating

17.5 mi

Whole path

880 yd

Path width

Injuries

$5.6M

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Pope County → Conway County → Van Buren County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 880 yards (0.50 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 Conway County tornado moved into Van Buren County about 8 miles southwest of Scotland at 348 pm CST. The tornado traveled about 2 miles through the Ozark National Forest before lifting. Based on surveys of the timber damage, the tornado remained at F2 strength before it dissipated.

Began near Scotland (35.4300, -92.7200).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5592932. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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