F5 Tornado — Lawrence, Tennessee

1998-04-16 · near Deerfield, Lawrence, Tennessee

Event narrative

Many fine homes, some even brick, were completely leveled. Trees were uprooted or blown down, power lines were down, 75 utility poles were blown down around the county. People who were at their homes went to the basement, or in a closet, or in a bathroom. The EMA report of a one ton Dodge flatbed truck, which weighs almost 5000 pounds, being hurled 20 miles, could not be confirmed. Therefore this account should be discounted. However, the EMA director verfied a sedan being carried 1/2 mile. A tree was debarked by the flying debris. A 200 yard wide path of pasture land had grass pulled out. Clumps of dirt was pulled up from the ground. Several livestock was killed.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.2500, -87.5800)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5641117. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.