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F2 tornado in Jackson County, Arkansas

Tornado March 1, 1997 · Jackson County, Arkansas

F2
Rating
43.0 mi
Whole path
880 yd
Path width
3
Deaths
74
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 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 tornado in Independence County moved back into Jackson County about 4 miles southwest of Jacksonport at 342 pm CST. The tornado moved northeastward into Jacksonport where there was a considerable loss of trees and damage to homes and businesses. One person was killed in a mobile home that was destroyed. A riverboat also suffered considerable damage when it was blown into a partially flooded area on the shoreline. As the tornado continued to move northeastward, it caused roof and structural damage to a number of buildings. A lot of trees were also blown down as well. The tornado crossed Highway 67 about a mile south of Tuckerman and skirted the southeast part of town. Several miles northeast of Tuckerman, on Highway 224, the tornado caused more damage to several homes. About 7 miles northeast of Tuckerman, there was quite a bit of tree damage. Some tops of trees were also removed, indicating that the tornado was aloft at times. The tornado downed more trees and power lines in the last 3 or 4 miles it was on the ground in Jackson County. The tornado exited Jackson County 5.5 miles east of Swifton at 413 pm CST. Damage along the path of the tornado was consistent with an F2 rating.

Began near Jacksonport (35.6000, -91.3700).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5600788. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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