The 1998 Nashville tornado outbreak was a two-day tornado outbreak which affected portions of the Midwestern United States, Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys on April 15 and April 16, 1998, with the worst of the outbreak taking place on the second day. On that day, at least ten tornadoes swept through Middle Tennessee—three of them touching down in Nashville, causing significant damage to the downtown and East Nashville areas. Nashville became the first major city in nearly 20 years to have an F2 or larger tornado make a direct hit in the downtown area.
In addition, the outbreak produced several other destructive tornadoes in Middle Tennessee. One of them, southwest of Nashville, was an F5 tornado—one of only two ever recorded in the state. That tornado remained mainly in rural areas of Wayne, Lawrence and Maury counties. Other tornadoes during the 2-day outbreak struck Arkansas, Alabama, Illinois and Kentucky.
12 people were killed by tornadoes during the outbreak including 2 in Arkansas, 3 in Kentucky and 7 in Tennessee including one in Nashville and three by the F5.
This tornado outbreak occurred at the end of the record-setting 1997-1998 El Niño event.
Read more about 1998 Nashville Tornado Outbreak: Meteorological Synopsis, Confirmed Tornadoes, Nashville Tornadoes, Southern Middle Tennessee F5 Tornado, South Central Kentucky
Famous quotes containing the word tornado:
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—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)