F3 Tornado — Crawford, Arkansas

1999-05-04 · near Natural Dam, Crawford, Arkansas

Event narrative

A significant long-track tornado first developed 4 miles west of Short, OK, moving northeast to about 7 miles southwest of Fayetteville, AR. This tornado reached its peak strength as an F3 tornado as it clipped extreme southeast Adair County, OK. This tornado then clipped extreme northwest Crawford County, passing through an unpopulated, forested area in the Ozark National Forest. An aerial survey by NWS personnel just west of the Oklahoma/Arkansas state line west of Natural Dam revealed that every tree in a hardwood forest was completely leveled. Property damage listed with this entry reflects tree damage sustained in Crawford County, while the F-rating reflects the tornado's peak strength in Adair County, OK.

Wider weather episode

Summary of events for May 4 1999:Following a record tornado outbreak in Oklahoma on May 3-4, a significant severe weather outbreak affected northwest Arkansas on the morning and afternoon of May 4 as a vigorous upper level system continued to move slowly east. While there were many individual storms in the area on May 4, the most outstanding storm of the day was a supercell thunderstorm that spawned a tornado in Sequoyah County, OK, which then moved northeast for 39 miles to near Fayetteville. Other storms produced damaging winds and large hail.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.7200, -94.4800)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5700597. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.