Home / Arkansas / Jackson

F2 tornado in Jackson County, Arkansas

Tornado March 1, 1997 · Jackson County, Arkansas

Rating

43.0 mi

Whole path

1,056 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.

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 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 White County tornado moved into Jackson County 3 miles south of Denmark at 325 pm CST. As the tornado crossed Highway 167, 2 people were killed when a tree fell on them while they were taking shelter from the tornado in a ditch. Several mobile homes and some frame homes suffered partial roof removal as the tornado progressed across the county. The tornado exited Jackson County 7 miles northeast of Denmark at 331 pm CST. Damage along the path of the tornado was consistent with an F2 rating.

Began near Denmark (35.4300, -91.5800).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5600786. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.