The April 16, 1998 tornado
F5Wayne, Lawrence, Giles and Maury counties, Tennessee
An F5 tornado on a 69.4-mile path that killed 3 and injured 36. It was one of 42 tornadoes recorded in the U.S. that day, 9 of them rated F3/EF3 or stronger.
Watch how it happened Part of the outbreak of April 16, 1998: 42 tornadoes in 8 statesF5 tornado · April 16, 1998
How it happened
Follow the tornado’s path, minute by minute.
The tornado
- Rating
- F5
- Fujita scale
- Path length
- 69.4 mi
- Width up to 1,760 yards
- Killed
- 3
- Along the whole path
- Injured
- 36
- Along the whole path
- Date and time
- Thursday, April 16, 1998
- 3:50 PM CST
The National Weather Service account
Written by the local Weather Service office after its damage survey.
Many fine homes, some even brick, were completely leveled. Trees were uprooted or blown down, power lines were down, 75 utility poles were blown down around the county. People who were at their homes went to the basement, or in a closet, or in a bathroom. The EMA report of a one ton Dodge flatbed truck, which weighs almost 5000 pounds, being hurled 20 miles, could not be confirmed. Therefore this account should be discounted. However, the EMA director verfied a sedan being carried 1/2 mile. A tree was debarked by the flying debris. A 200 yard wide path of pasture land had grass pulled out. Clumps of dirt was pulled up from the ground. Several livestock was killed.
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
Counties on its path
Other notable tornadoes that day
- F4, Mississippi County2 killed
Storm Prediction Center severe weather database. Path drawn as a straight line from the recorded start to end point.