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F1 tornado in Jefferson County, Arkansas

Tornado January 21, 1999 · Jefferson County, Arkansas

F1
Rating
30.0 mi
Whole path
200 yd
Path width
4
Injuries
$2.0M
Damage as recorded

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 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

A weak tornado was spawned in western Jefferson County. The tornado tracked close to the White Hall area and caused some property damage. A barn was destroyed and the roof of a storage building was damaged. Roof damage was also found at several homes. The tornado then headed into the Pine Bluff Arsenal. The tornado damaged some buildings at the Arsenal, with mostly roof damage noted. The tornado also destroyed several steam pipes and knocked down the awning of the public works gas station. The tornado crossed the Arkansas River about 2 miles south of Pastoria with tree damage on both sides of the river. As the tornado moved northeast, it damaged a few more homes in the Sherrill area. The tornado dissipated just southwest of Tucker...with a new tornado spawned less than a mile farther southeast.

Began near Whitehall (34.2800, -92.1200).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5684593. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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