As many of you know, on April 15-16, 1998 a tornado outbreak targeted E. Kansas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.
In Nashville, the strongest tornado, an F3 touched down at Charlotte & 46th Avenues. This is very close to the location that the 1933 tornado touched down.
The 1998 F3 tornado tracked into northern Wilson county, and finally lifting near Hartsville, in Trousdale county. This tornado took almost the same path as it's 1933 counter-part. In Nashville, the tornado caused significant damage in downtown, and destroyed houses in East Nashville, and even causing damage at Adelphia Coliseum (which is now LP Field) and killing Vanderbilt University student Kevin Longinotti. There were two additional tornadoes, about an hour apart. Both were rated at F-2.
All in all, this single storm (and the series of three tornadoes) left 100 Million dollars in damage and only one fatality, which is remarkable, given the fact that Nashville didn't have storm warning sirens at the time. There are now 74 sirens in place.
This outbreak produced the only official F-5 in Tennessee state history. A supercell east of Memphis hit an outflow boundary, and rapidly intensified. This "forgotten F5" occurred near Clifton, TN in rural Wayne county. This tornado tracked over mostly rural areas, often times being over a mile across. This tornado took three lives and injured 36
Information sourced from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Nashville_tornado_outbreak#Confirmed_tornadoes
Earlier that day, in Smyrna, I experienced severe thunderstorms, several were tornado-warned, and spent most of the day diving into our bathroom for shelter.
I watched this tornado approach the Skycam on channel 5, and was in total horror as the dark 'wall' overtook Nashville, and then finally the camera - Snow was all I saw, until I switched channels. News Channel Five (WTVF-TV) was off the air for the better part of the evening, except for briefly at their transmitter site at Brick Church Pike, using one of their news vans. 4/16/1998 will be a day that I will never forget, the day Nashville was changed forever.
Feel free to discuss/add info. Any chasers or spotters that were on these Sup's as they crossed TN, I'd love to hear your experiences.
In Nashville, the strongest tornado, an F3 touched down at Charlotte & 46th Avenues. This is very close to the location that the 1933 tornado touched down.
The 1998 F3 tornado tracked into northern Wilson county, and finally lifting near Hartsville, in Trousdale county. This tornado took almost the same path as it's 1933 counter-part. In Nashville, the tornado caused significant damage in downtown, and destroyed houses in East Nashville, and even causing damage at Adelphia Coliseum (which is now LP Field) and killing Vanderbilt University student Kevin Longinotti. There were two additional tornadoes, about an hour apart. Both were rated at F-2.
All in all, this single storm (and the series of three tornadoes) left 100 Million dollars in damage and only one fatality, which is remarkable, given the fact that Nashville didn't have storm warning sirens at the time. There are now 74 sirens in place.
This outbreak produced the only official F-5 in Tennessee state history. A supercell east of Memphis hit an outflow boundary, and rapidly intensified. This "forgotten F5" occurred near Clifton, TN in rural Wayne county. This tornado tracked over mostly rural areas, often times being over a mile across. This tornado took three lives and injured 36
Information sourced from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Nashville_tornado_outbreak#Confirmed_tornadoes
Earlier that day, in Smyrna, I experienced severe thunderstorms, several were tornado-warned, and spent most of the day diving into our bathroom for shelter.
I watched this tornado approach the Skycam on channel 5, and was in total horror as the dark 'wall' overtook Nashville, and then finally the camera - Snow was all I saw, until I switched channels. News Channel Five (WTVF-TV) was off the air for the better part of the evening, except for briefly at their transmitter site at Brick Church Pike, using one of their news vans. 4/16/1998 will be a day that I will never forget, the day Nashville was changed forever.
Feel free to discuss/add info. Any chasers or spotters that were on these Sup's as they crossed TN, I'd love to hear your experiences.
