The March 1, 1997 tornado
F4Hot Spring County, Arkansas
An F4 tornado on a 24.0-mile path that injured 11. It was one of 56 tornadoes recorded in the U.S. that day, 18 of them rated F3/EF3 or stronger.
Watch how it happened Part of the outbreak of March 1, 1997: 56 tornadoes in 5 statesF4 tornado · March 1, 1997
How it happened
Follow the tornado’s path, minute by minute.
The tornado
- Rating
- F4
- Fujita scale
- Path length
- 24.0 mi
- Width up to 527 yards
- Killed
- 0
- Along the whole path
- Injured
- 11
- Along the whole path
- Date and time
- Saturday, March 1, 1997
- 2:47 PM CST
The National Weather Service account
Written by the local Weather Service office after its damage survey.
The storm system that day
The Clark County tornado moved into Hot Spring County 4.5 miles south of Friendship at 247 pm CST. The tornado damaged or destroyed a number of homes and other buildings in Donaldson as it moved northeastward. The tornado passed just to the south and east of Malvern. However, some damage was noted at the Malvern Airport. The tornado downed many more trees and power lines, as well as a number of buildings before it lifted about 6.5 miles east of Malvern.Damage along the track of the tornado was mostly F2 and F3. However, some structural damage in the Donaldson area was consistent with an F4 rating.
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
Counties on its path
Other notable tornadoes that day
- F4, Clark County6 killed
- F4, Saline County10 killed
- F4, Pulaski County5 killed
- F4, Mississippi County20 mi
- F4, Dyer County1 killed
- F4, Gibson County10 mi
Storm Prediction Center severe weather database. Path drawn as a straight line from the recorded start to end point.