1998 Lawrence County, Tennessee tornado
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| F5 tornado | |
|---|---|
| on the Fujita scale | |
| Overall effects | |
| Injuries | 21 |
| Damage | $4 million (1998 USD)[1] |
| Areas affected | Lawrence County |
In the early evening of April 16, 1998, a strong and long tracked tornado touched down in Lawrence County, Tennessee causing 12 injuries and causing $4 million (1998 USD) in damage. The tornado, despite being the first documented F5 tornado in Tennessee, went largely unnoticed. The tornado was on the ground for 28 miles during its 50 minutes on the ground. Due to moving in mostly uninhabited areas, the tornado was one of the few F5/EF5 tornadoes not to kill anyone. [2][3]
Meteorological history
[edit]
The storm outlook issued by NWS Nashville for that day was a high risk in multiple areas.[4] At approximately 3:00 p.m., the first notable tornado touched down east of Dyersburg and killed three people.[5] The tornado was rated F3. The next notable tornado struck areas just south, southeast of Savannah to southeast of Waynesboro killing 3. The tornado was rated F4.[6][3]
The Lawrence County, Tennessee tornado
[edit]This strong tornado touched down just northeast of Waynesboro at 4:30 p.m CST.[7] the tornado crossed over U.S Route 64 causing ground scouring and tree damage.[8] Though the tornado did not enter any towns, many large and well-built homes with anchor bolts were completely leveled with some swept clean from their foundations, and vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards.[3] A Dodge truck weighing 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) was swept up and thrown 20 miles from its original location.[9] It would then continue inflicting damage to houses along U.S 241 causing 21 injuries but no fatalities. the tornado would continue on out of Lawrence County before dissipating.
Aftermath
[edit]
The tornado would inflict 4 million dollars in damages, and heavily destroyed several other buildings.[2] This would be the first and currently the only F5/EF5 tornado to strike Tennessee.[10]
References
[edit]- ↑ Storm Events Database, Database], NOAA
- 1 2 US Department of Commerce, NOAA. "The Forgotten F5: The Lawrence County Supercell during the Middle Tennessee Tornado Outbreak of April 16, 1998". weather.gov. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
- 1 2 3 US Department of Commerce, NOAA. "April 16, 1998 Tornado Outbreak". weather.gov. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
- ↑ "SPC - Day1 Convective Outlook". convectiveoutlook.com. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
- ↑ "Storm Events Database - Event Details | National Centers for Environmental Information". www.ncei.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
- ↑ "castorweather.com". castorweather.com. Archived from the original on 2016-01-15. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
- ↑ "World Clock & Time Converter". Worldtime Buddy. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
- ↑ US Department of Commerce, NOAA, National Weather Service. "April 16, 1998 Tornado Outbreak - Tornado Information". srh.noaa.gov. Archived from the original on 2013-10-22. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Greco, Del (1998). APRIL 1998 VOLUME 40 NUMBER 4 STORM DATA (1st ed.). Department of Commerce. ISSN 0039-1972.
- ↑ US Department of Commerce, NOAA. "Tennessee Tornado Stats". preview.weather.gov. NOAA's National Weather Service. Retrieved 2026-09-15.