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F2 tornado in White County, Arkansas

Tornado March 1, 1997 · White County, Arkansas

Rating

43.0 mi

Whole path

150 yd

Path width

Deaths

Injuries

$38.0M

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through White County → Jackson County → Independence County → Jackson County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 150 yards (0.09 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

Another tornado developed about 3.5 miles west-southwest of Velvet Ridge and moved northeastward. Before moving into Jackson County, the tornado destroyed a mobile home. 3 people inside the mobile home ran for cover and were not injured.

Began near Velvet Ridge (35.4000, -91.6300).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5600785. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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