March 1997 tornado outbreak
| Duration | 30 hours |
|---|---|
| Tornadoes confirmed | 39 confirmed |
| Max. rating1 | F4 tornado |
| Fatalities | 27 |
| Damage | 115 million-120 million (1997 dollars)[1] |
| Areas affected | Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee |
| 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale | |
The Benton, Arkansas Tornado Outbreak was a major tornado outbreak that struck portions of the central and southern United States mostly on March 1, 1997 with initial activity on February 28. Affecting areas mostly from Arkansas to Kentucky, the two-day outbreak produced 39 tornadoes and killed at least 27 people including 25 in Arkansas alone with one death in each Mississippi and Tennessee.[2] This was Arkansas' deadliest tornado outbreak since May 15, 1968, where 34 were killed in Jonesboro. [3] Over 400 others were injured during this event which was about 45% of the yearly average of tornado-related injuries in the United States.[4]
Meteorological synopsis
On March 1, 1997, very unstable air invaded much of the affected area while much warmer temperatures were recorded. Temperatures across most of Arkansas which normally at that time are below 60 °F (16 °C) reached the mid to upper 70s °F(24 °C). A cold was approaching from the Midwestern Plains and was associated with a strong low further north. Strong temperatures contrasts were observed on either side of the front. In addition, wind near the ground and aloft were very strong and significant shear was noted before given additionnal ingredients for extreme severe weather across the Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys on March 1, 1997. On February 28, 1997, the Storm Prediction Center had issued a Day 2 moderate risk of severe weather for much of Arkansas and a tornado watch was issued for the western and central part of the state during the morning hours of March 1.[1][5]
| State | Total | County | County total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 25 | Clark | 6 |
| Greene | 1 | ||
| Jackson | 3 | ||
| Pulaski | 5 | ||
| Saline | 10 | ||
| Mississippi | 1 | Pontotoc | 1 |
| Tennessee | 1 | Dyer | 1 |
| Totals | 27 | ||
| All deaths were tornado-related | |||
Tornado and flood event
Initial activity ahead of the main outbreak started on February 28, where a few tornadoes touched down in Mississippi with intermittent activity throughout the overnight hours including in Tennessee before a lull during the morning. One Mississippi tornado killed one person in Pontotoc while a long-tracked F3 storm from a single supercell touched down west of Tupelo. Other strong tornadoes also touched down in Tennessee during the early morning hours. Activity resumed ahead of the front at around noon with the first significant tornadoes hitting Arkansas by 2:00 PM CDT while a line of thunderstorms developed just to the west of the supercells along the cold front.
According to the National Weather Service Office in Little Rock, Arkansas, at least 15 significant tornadoes touchdown across most of Arkansas and it issued 57 weather warnings including 34 for tornadoes.[1] The most significant and deadliest tornado recorded in the state and for the entire outbreak was an F4 that affected areas of Saline and Pulaski south of Little Rock where 10 people were killed by this tornado along the path which included portions of Benton, Bauxite, Bryant and Vimy Ridge. It then struck southern and eastern portions of the Little Rock suburbs killing 5 and injuring nearly 200 others before it lifted near Adams Field Airport in College Station after affecting areas in and around Sweet Home, Ward and Shannon Hills, Arkansas. The storm traveled for about 27 miles (43 km) and a width of .8 miles (1.3 km) wide.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
Prior to the Benton tornado, another F4 in Clark County affected the town of Arkadelphia killing 6 and injuring at least 100. The tornado track was at least 50 miles (80 km) long and also caused extensive damage in parts of Hot Spring particularly in Donaldson[6]
The two F4 deadly tornadoes were produced by the same supercell thunderstorm that traveled through most of the state. The supercell alone killed 21 and injured several hundreds others and causing several millions of dollars worth of damage in southern and central Arkansas. Near the Tennessee border and across the Mississippi River, the same supercell produced an additionnal F4 that crossed near the Dyersburg area in Dyer killing one.[7]
Another supercell north of the main storm produced several tornadoes north of Little Rock and Jonesboro including a long-tracked F3 that caused the other 4 fatalities across the state. Among the towns affected included Markamaduke which was affected by an even stronger tornado during the April 2, 2006 Tornado Outbreak. Areas affected by the deadly tornadoes had tornado warnings with lead time estimated at between 9 and 28 minutes. Overall across the state of Arkansas 1 200 homes were damaged or destroyed including close to 400 in Arkadelphia.[1][8][9] Weaker tornadoes touched down across Kentucky with no additionnal fatalities.
Eleven counties across Arkansas were declared federal disaster areas by then-US President Bill Clinton for tornadoes while two others in were for flooding. Seven other counties in Tennessee were also declared disaster areas due to tornadoes. It was considered the worst tornado outbreak since the Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1994 which killed 42 across Alabama and Georgia. Severe flooding across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys also resulted in 16 Ohio counties and 44 Kentucky counties to be declared a disaster area. The flash floods and damaging wind elsewhere caused 34 deaths across six states including 19 in Kentucky, five in Ohio, five in Tennessee, two in Texas and three in West Virginia. Damage estimates in Kentucky alone were at about $250 million while 75,000 homes were damaged. Then-governor Paul Patton had initially declared 120 counties a state of emergency and deployed about 1100 National Guard Troops to the flood stricken-regions. In Indiana, the Ohio River overflow its banks due to record rains . All 13 counties along the river between Evansville and Cincinnati were also declared disaster areas. In West Virginia, then-Governor Cecil Underwood declared state of emergencies for 14 counties and 16 were later declared disaster areas as over 4 000 homes and other structures were damaged by the flooding.[10][11]
Several areas that were hit by the tornadoes did not had any tornado sirens. After the outbreak several million dollars were invested to improve the siren system throughout the state for future tornado outbreaks[12] including the Super Tuesday Outbreak in 2008, a similar but much deadlier and more widespread outbreak. Fourteen people in Arkansas were killed by that outbreak on February 5, 2008 and nearly 60 in total were killed across the Mid-South regions of the US.
Tornado Table
| FU | F0 | F1 | F2 | F3 | F4 | F5 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 39 |
Confirmed tornadoes
February 28 event
| F# | Location | County | Time (UTC) | Path length | Damage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | ||||||
| F0 | NE of Brownsville | Hinds | 2230 | 1 miles (1.6 km) |
Damage limited to trees | |
| F0 | SW of Flora | Madison | 2240 | 2 miles (3.2 km) |
Damage limited to trees | |
| F0 | N of Kearney Park | Madison | 2255 | 1 miles (1.6 km) |
One tree blown down | |
| F0 | NE of Myrleville | Yazoo | 2315 | 2 miles (3.2 km) |
Damage limited to trees | |
| F1 | Shepard to NW of Sherman | Calhoun, Pontotoc | 0647 | 25 miles (40 km) |
1 death One mobile home was destroyed killing its occupant. 25 barns, 2 mobile hmoes, 2 homes were destroyed. 9 homes were damaged. 2 horses were killed. | |
| Tennessee | ||||||
| F2 | N of Napier | Lewis | 0725 | 3.9 miles (6.2 km) |
5 homes were damaged and one barn was destroyed | |
| F2 | SE of Ashland | Wayne, Lawrence, Lewis | 0732 | 7.8 miles (12.5 km) |
4 homes were damaged and 3 trailers were destroyed | |
| Source: Tornado History Project - February 28, 1997 Storm Data | ||||||
March 1 event
| F# | Location | County | Time (UTC) | Path length | Damage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | ||||||
| F3 | N of Banner to NW of Graham | Calhoun, Lafayette, Pontotoc, Union | 0835 | 50 miles (80 km) |
91 homes were damaged, 49 of them heavily. | |
| Kentucky | ||||||
| F0 | N of Bowling Green | Warren | 1026 | 0.5 miles (0.8 km) |
Damage limited to trees | |
| F2 | S of Gamaliel | Monroe | 1036 | 4 miles (6.4 km) |
Two homes and several barns were destroyed | |
| F0 | S of Valley Hill | Washington | 1759 | 5 miles (8 km) |
Damage limited to trees and a car | |
| F1 | N of Stanton | Powell | 1950 | 6 miles (9.6 km) |
A hangar, a prop plane and two aircrafts were destroyed. Some homes and barns were damaged. | |
| F0 | SW of Pomeroyton | Menifee | 2015 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
Brief tornado with no damage | |
| F0 | NW of Nuckols | McLean | 0001 | 0.3 miles (0.5 km) |
Brief tornado with no damage | |
| F1 | W of Hardyville | Warren | 0400 | 0.5 miles (0.8 km) |
Two barns and a silo were destroyed while one home, one mobile home and one barn were damaged. | |
| F0 | SW of Crailhope | Metcalfe | 0525 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
Damage to trees and power lines | |
| F0 | Stanton area | Powell | 0620 | 1 miles (1.6 km) |
Damage to two greenhouses, a barn, several houses and several businessess | |
| F0 | SW of Scranton | Menifee | 0630 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) |
Damage limited to trees | |
| Tennessee | ||||||
| F2 | Selmer area | McNairy | 1145 | 5 miles (8 km) |
48 homes and 2 businesses were damage or destroyed | |
| F2 | SW of Alamo to McKenzie | Crockett, Gibson, Carroll | 2202 | 30 miles (48 km) |
Several businesses and 67 homes were damaged, a storage shed was destroyed | |
| Arkansas | ||||||
| F3 | Hope to NE of Prescott | Heampstead, Nevada | 1955 | 18 miles (28.8 km) |
Numerous homes, buildings, mobile homes and vehicules were heavily damaged or destroyed. | |
| F1 | Briarcliff area | Baxter | 2010 | 5 miles (8 km) |
A storage building was destroyed and a mobile was overturned | |
| F4 | W of Beirne to NE of Arkadelphia to W of Fenter | Clark, Hot Spring | 2020 | 51 miles (81.6 km) |
6 deaths Several homes and businesses in Arkadelphia were heavily damaged or destroyed. 5 of the fatalities were in Arkadelphia and the other on Interstate 30 southwest of the city. Homes and buildings were destroyed in Donaldson and damage was noted at the Malvern Airport. | |
| F1 | NW of Cabot | Lonoke | 2037 | 3 miles (4.8 km) |
Roofs of several buildings were damaged | |
| F3 | W of Antioch | White | 2039 | 13 miles (20.8 km) |
Utility towers, a frame home and trailers were destroyed | |
| F1 | NW of Belleville | Yell | 2055 | 1 miles (1.6 km) |
Damage limited to trees | |
| F1 | N of Chickalah | Yell | 2105 | 1 miles (1.6 km) |
Several chicken houses were destroyed | |
| F3 | W of Velvet Ridge to E of Marmaduke | White, Jackson, Independence, Craighead, Lawrence, Greene | 2123 | 68 miles (108.8 km) |
4 deaths Damage to mobile homes and frame homes including two destroyed. In Jackson County, two people were killed by a fallen tree while the third person died inside a destroyed mobile home. One person was killed in Greene County. Numerous homes, buildings and other structures were also damaged or destroyed. | |
| F4 | SE of Benton to SE of North Little Rock | Saline, Pulaski | 2125 | 25 miles (40 km) |
15 deaths Several homes were destroyed or heavily damaged in Shannon Hills. 10 fatalities were recorded in Saline County and 5 in Pulaski County. | |
| F1 | S of Appleton to N of Cleveland | Pope, Conway, Van Buren | 2130 | 17.5 miles (27.2 km) |
A wood pallet plant, a tin shed, a hog farm and a chicken were destroyed and a few homes sustained roof damage. One trailer was overturned and destroyed. Extensive tree damage at the Ozark National Forest | |
| F2 | SE of Vimy Ridge | Saline | 2135 | 2 miles (3.2 km) |
Tornado formed just south of the Benton/Shannon Hills tornado and caused damage to homes in Vimy Ridge. | |
| F2 | S of College Station | Pulaski | 2147 | 5 miles (8 km) |
A second satellite tornado that formed south of the Shannon Hills/College Station F4 damaging several buildings | |
| F2 | N of Furlow | Lonoke | 2202 | 2.3 miles (3.7 km) |
One frame home was destroyed and a utility tower was blown down. Some homes sustained roof damage | |
| F1 | SW of Shirley | Van Buren | 2212 | 2.5 miles (4 km) |
A couple of sheds were destroyed and some homes sustained roof damage | |
| F0 | E of Rushing | Stone | 2222 | 0.5 miles (0.8 km) |
Damage limited to trees | |
| F1 | E of Marcella | Stone, Independence | 2250 | 4.5 miles (7.2 km) |
Some trailers were damaged | |
| F3 | NE of Patterson to NE of Hickory Ridge | Woodruff, Jackson, Cross, Poinsett | 2254 | 19 miles (30.4 km) |
A house trailer, a switching station, a frame home and a hunting club were destroyed while there was heavy damage to an elementary school, several homes, grain bins and a farm shop | |
| F1 | Cave City area | Sharp | 2315 | 1 miles (1.6 km) |
Damage limited to trees | |
| F4 | Lennie, AR to SE of Rutherford, TN | Mississippi, AR, Dyer, TN, Gibson | 0020 | 45 miles (72 km) |
1 death 190 homes and a High School were destroyed or damaged in Dyer County where the fatality was located. Eight more homes were destroyed in Gibson County. In Mississippi County, three mobile homes were destroyed or damaged.[13] | |
| Source: Tornado History Project - March 1, 1997 Storm Data | ||||||
See also
Reference
- ^ a b c d http://www.weather.gov/om/assessments/pdfs/ark61.pdf
- ^ NCDC Storm Events-Select State
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wmar01ap.htm
- ^ Tornado warning systems improve
- ^ National Weather Service - Little Rock, Arkansas...Tornadoes on 03/01/1997
- ^ National Weather Service - Little Rock, Arkansas...Tornadoes on 03/01/1997 (Track 1)
- ^ NWS Memphis, Severe Weather Summary of March 1st Tornadoes
- ^ National Weather Service - Little Rock, Arkansas...Tornadoes on 03/01/1997 (Track 5)
- ^ Tornado History Project - Tornado Map
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wmar01us.htm
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wmar01ey.htm
- ^ Good news: More sirens, better radar
- ^ NWS Memphis, Severe Weather Summary of March 1st Tornadoes