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F1 tornado in Bradley County, Tennessee

Tornado April 16, 1998 · Bradley County, Tennessee

Rating

11.5 mi

Path length

50 yd

Path width

Death

$750K

Damage as recorded

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F1 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F1 meant moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken; the scale paired it with winds of 73–112 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 woman was killed when she was making her way into the basement in her home to take shelter from the approaching tornado. High winds caused the house to shift on its foundation, crushing her. Two homes were completely destroyed. Damage occurred to 33 homes, 10 barns, 2 mobile homes and a church.

Began near Cleveland (35.1700, -85.0000).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5642865. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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