F3 tornado in Grant County, Arkansas

Tornado January 21, 1999 · Grant County, Arkansas

Rating

11.0 mi

Whole path

300 yd

Path width

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

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 300 yards (0.17 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 from eastern Hot Spring County into western Grant County. The tornado crossed Highway 270 about 2 miles west of Poyen. Mostly tree damage was noted, with the tornado weakening as it moved northeast. The tornado dissipated northwest of Poyen just before it reached Highway 229.

Began near Poyen (34.3200, -92.6700).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5685645. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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