January 1999 tornado outbreak sequence

The January 1999 tornado outbreak sequence was a major outbreak of tornadoes from January 17 to 22, 1999 across the Mississippi Valley, USA, centered in Arkansas and Tennessee. It was the largest tornado outbreak ever recorded in the month of January with 150 tornadoes confirmed.

Confirmed tornadoes

January 17 event

Jackson, Tennessee area tornadoes

Jackson, Tennessee was hit by two devastating tornadoes on the evening of January 17. The first tornado began south of Eurekaton in Haywood County at about 6:15 pm CST (0015 UTC) and tracked across rural areas towards the Madison County line. In Haywood County, there were 12 houses destroyed along with several farm buildings. The damage picked up more as it passed through Mercer and Denmark, where several more houses were destroyed. Severe damage was also reported at the McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport where several buildings were flattened and equipment was destroyed. The tornado crossed into the north side of Jackson, where severe damage was reported to 38 houses and apartments; most of which were destroyed. The first tornado dissipated at about 6:25 pm CST (0025 UTC). Two people were injured by the first tornado, which was rated as an F3 on the Fujita scale. [ [http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~ShowEvent~378385 NCDC: Event Details ] ]

The second tornado developed east of Bemis at 6:25 pm when the first tornado dissipated. The tornado crossed into the southern part of Jackson, severely damaging the city. Over 200 homes and numerous businesses were destroyed or flattened and hundreds of others were damaged. Some of the demolished buildings include portions of a shopping center, the athletic fields of a high school, a school bus garage, half of an apartment building and a funeral home. Six people were killed and 106 were injured by this tornado, which was rated F4. [ [http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~ShowEvent~378389 NCDC: Event Details ] ]

Little Rock area tornado

The Little Rock area was slammed by a strong tornado on the evening of January 21. It tracked directly into the downtown area, making it one of the few tornadoes in recent years to directly hit the downtown area of a major city. [ [http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/downtown.html Downtown Tornadoes ] ]

The tornado began in Saline County south of Vimy Ridge at 6:24 pm CST (0024 UTC). Before crossing the Pulaski County line, it did moderate damage to several houses and significant damage to a mobile home. [ [http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~ShowEvent~354808 NCDC: Event Details ] ] It crossed into Pulaski County at 6:33 pm, where moderate roof damage was reported to several buildings along the Interstate 30 corridor. It continued eastward and did most of its devastation in the downtown area. [ [http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~ShowEvent~354812 NCDC: Event Details ] ]

The downtown area was devastated. There was severe damage reported to over 235 buildings, many of which were destroyed. One of the destroyed buildings included a large grocery store, a Harvest Foods, where one person was killed. Over 500 other buildings sustained lesser damage. Some of the houses damaged that were in the historic district were also condemned due to there being lead smelt beneath them. Trees and power lines were also knocked down throughout the area. Damage was also reported on the property of the Arkansas Governor's Mansion, where many trees were knocked down. As the tornado left downtown, it weakened as it crossed Interstate 40. It weakened in the northeastern suburbs, near Sherwood at 6:53 pm CST, after being on the ground for 29 minutes and travelling 22 miles (35 km). The first tornado was rated as an F3 tornado on the Fujita scale [ [http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~ShowEvent~354812 NCDC: Event Details ] ]

As the first tornado dissipated, a second tornado developed in eastern Pulaski County. While it remained in more rural settings, it also destroyed several buildings, including a storage facility. It also knocked over several tractor trailers before crossing into Lonoke County. [ [http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~ShowEvent~354817 NCDC: Event Details ] ] Extensive damage was also reported in Lonoke County, where the South Bend community was hit hard. 12 houses, 11 mobile homes and several farm buildings were damaged or destroyed in Lonoke County. The tornado dissipated at 7:02 pm CST (0102 UTC) southwest of Cabot. It was an F2 tornado. [ [http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~ShowEvent~354825 NCDC: Event Details ] ]

Three people died in the tornadoes. One of them was in the destroyed grocery store, another was in a vehicle hit by a tree, and the third was in a mobile home that was destroyed. 78 other people were injured by the tornado. [ [http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~ShowEvent~354812 NCDC: Event Details ] ] [ [http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~ShowEvent~354817 NCDC: Event Details ] ]

ee also

*List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
*1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak

References

External links