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F3 tornado in Independence County, Arkansas

Tornado January 21, 1999 · Independence County, Arkansas

F3
Rating
19.0 mi
Whole path
600 yd
Path width
2
Injuries

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 600 yards (0.34 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F3 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F3 meant severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned; the scale paired it with winds of 158–206 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

A strong tornado moved out of northern White County into southern Independence County. The tornado tracked across Highway 167 about 2 miles south of Pleasant Plains...damaging or destroying several homes and farm buildings and knocking down trees. Northeast of Pleasant Plains, and near Highway 157...the tornado headed through a forested area. An aerial survey confirmed that in at least one area of the forest...only a few trees were left standing. The tornado began dissipating as it moved between Rosie and Oil Trough. About a mile farther southeast, yet another tornado was developing in southern Independence County.

Began near Pleasant Plains (35.5300, -91.6000).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5684585. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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