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F3 tornado in Benton County, Tennessee

Tornado January 22, 1999 · Benton County, Tennessee

F3
Rating
15.0 mi
Path length
220 yd
Path width
1
Death
5
Injuries
$1.0M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 220 yards (0.12 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.

What the National Weather Service wrote

This tornado resulted in the only fatality in Middle Tennessee from the severe weather outbreak of January 22,1999. The tornado killed a 50 year old woman who left her shelter in a brick ranch home located on Cedar Grove Road. She went outside to get her dogs inside her home, and that's when the tornado struck and killed her. Her husband remained inside the home and survived. There were 5 injuries from the tornado. A 1600 square foot frame home was moved 10 to 12 feet from its foundation. 12 homes were destroyed, 33 homes sustained damage and 5 businesses were damaged. Power lines and trees were blown down. The winds picked up a 7500 pound Cadillac, and hurled its engine 300-400 yards into a field. The chassis, its empty metal skin, was hurled even further.

Began near Camden (36.0500, -88.1700).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

2 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5685676. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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