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F2 tornado in White County, Arkansas

Tornado January 21, 1999 · White County, Arkansas

Rating

11.0 mi

Whole path

400 yd

Path width

Death

Injuries

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

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 400 yards (0.23 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F2 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F2 meant considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted; the scale paired it with winds of 113–157 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 was spawned in northern White County about 3 miles north of Sunnydale along Highway 157. As the tornado tracked northeast, it caused extensive tree and utility pole damage. A few homes and barns were damaged, with a trailer near the White/Independence County line thrown into Independence County. The occupant of the trailer lost her life. The tornado eventually headed into Independence County toward the town of Pleasant Plains.

Began near Sunnydale (35.5000, -91.7000).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5685646. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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