National Weather Service Forecast Office

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
908 PM CDT THU OCT 21 2004


...MEMPHIS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM DAMAGE SURVEYS OF TORNADIC 
   DAMAGE FROM OCTOBER 18 2004 ACROSS THE MIDSOUTH COMPLETED...

...PEMISCOT COUNTY MISSOURI TORNADO...

COOTER MISSOURI...A DEADLY TORNADO STRUCK THE SMALL COMMUNITY OF 
COOTER MISSOURI DURING THE MID EVENING HOURS...RESULTING IN 3 
FATALITIES...4 SERIOUS INJURIES...AND 3 MINOR INJURIES. THIS TORNADO 
WAS ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR SUBSTANTIAL STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO A FARM 
HOUSE AND ADJOINING BUILDINGS. THE COOTER TORNADO WAS RATED F2 ON 
THE FUJITA TORNADO INTENSITY SCALE. THIS F2 TORNADO WAS SHORT-LIVED 
AND WAS ONLY ON THE GROUND FOR 1/2 MILE...WITH A PATH WIDTH OF 100 
TO 150 YARDS. IN ADDITION TO THE DAMAGE SUSTAINED BY 
STRUCTURES...THE TORNADO BLEW OVER A LARGE GRAIN TRAILER AND SNAPPED 
SEVERAL TREES.  

...EASTERN RANDOLPH/SOUTHWESTERN CLAY COUNTY ARKANSAS TORNADO...

PEACH ORCHARD...DURING THE EVENING HOURS A TORNADO DEVELOPED ACROSS 
RURAL PORTIONS OF EASTERN RANDOLPH COUNTY AND TRACKED 
NON-CONTINUOUSLY FOR 13 MILES INTO SOUTHWEST PORTIONS OF CLAY 
COUNTY. THIS TORNADO CAUSED F0 TO F1 DAMAGE ALONG ITS PATH...WITH 
THE F1 DAMAGE OCCURRING NEAR THE PEACH ORCHARD COMMUNITY. THE 
TORNADO PRODUCED MINOR DAMAGE TO CROP FIELDS ACROSS SOUTHEASTERN 
RANDOLPH COUNTY. AS THE TORNADO TRACKED INTO SOUTHWEST CLAY 
COUNTY...IT CROSSED OVER SEVERAL SOYBEAN FIELDS. AS THE TORNADO 
CROSSED THESE FIELDS...CONVERGENT SWIRL PATTERNS WERE IDENTIFIED 
WITH MULTIPLE SOYBEAN PLANTS BLOWN OVER. AS THE TORNADO CONTINUED TO 
MOVE EAST ACROSS CLAY COUNTY...IT DAMAGED A COUPLE OF CABINS IN THE 
BROOKINGS COMMUNITY IN THE DONALDSON/BLACK RIVER WILD LIFE 
MANAGEMENT AREA ALONG THE LITTLE BLACK RIVER AND DESTROYED A SMALL 
RURAL FARM HOUSE NEAR THE PEACH ORCHARD COMMUNITY. TWO PERSONS 
LIVING IN THE SMALL RURAL FARM HOUSE ABANDONED THE HOUSE PRIOR TO 
THE TORNADO TOUCHDOWN AT THE FARM. THE TORNADO WAS ALSO RESPONSIBLE 
FOR BLOWING OVER SEVERAL TOMBSTONES AT A CEMETERY LOCATED NEAR PEACH 
ORCHARD. A FEW TREES WERE ALSO DAMAGED ALONG THE PATH OF THIS 
TORNADO.   

...LAWRENCE/RANDOLPH/GREEN COUNTY ARKANSAS TORNADO...

COLLEGE CITY TO STONEWALL...A WEAK TORNADO DEVELOPED DURING THE 
EARLY EVENING HOURS AND TRACKED NON-CONTINUOUSLY FOR APPROXIMATELY 
15 MILES THROUGH RURAL PORTIONS OF NORTHEASTERN LAWRENCE...EXTREME 
SOUTHEASTERN RANDOLPH...AND NORTHWESTERN PORTIONS OF GREEN COUNTY. 
THIS TORNADO WAS RATED A F0 ALONG ITS ENTIRE PATH AND ONLY PRODUCED 
MINOR DAMAGE TO OPEN FARMLAND.

...EASTERN CLAY COUNTY TORNADO...

NIMMONS...A WEAK F0 TORNADO MADE BRIEF TOUCHDOWNS ALONG AN 
APPROXIMATELY 4 MILE PATH ACROSS EASTERN PORTIONS OF CLAY COUNTY 
ARKANSAS NEAR THE COMMUNITY OF NIMMONS. AT THIS TIME...ONLY MINOR 
DAMAGE TO CROPS AND TREES HAVE BEEN NOTED. 

...DYER COUNTY TENNESSEE TORNADO...

DYERSBURG TENNESSEE...DURING THE MID EVENING HOURS A TORNADO 
IMPACTED PORTIONS OF DYER COUNTY. THE TORNADO DAMAGE TRACK BEGAN 2 
MILES WEST OF THE INTERSECTION OF STATE ROUTE 78 AND BUSINESS ROUTE 
51. DAMAGE ENCOUNTERED ALONG THE TRACK WAS PRIMARILY LARGE TREE 
LIMBS. A SMALL HANDFUL OF POWER POLES WERE SNAPPED ON STATE ROUTE 
104 BETWEEN FINLEY AND DYERSBURG. 

SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE WAS SUSTAINED TO THE ROOF AND FACADE OF HELCO 
MANUFACTURING IN NORTHWEST DYERSBURG. DAMAGE CONSISTED OF SHEET 
METAL REMOVED AND TWISTED FROM THE ROOF AND SIDES OF THE BUILDINGS, 
AN AIR CONDITIONER LIFTED OFF THE ROOF...BRICK VENEER REMOVED FROM 
THE FRONT OFFICES WITH WINDOWS BLOWN OUT IN THE FRONT OFFICES AND 
GLASS/BODY DAMAGE DONE TO VEHICLES ON PARKING LOT. DAMAGE ON THE 
WEST SIDE OF THE BUILDING EXHIBITED A NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST DAMAGE 
PATTERN WITH THE NORTH AND EAST SIDE SHOWING DAMAGE CREATED BY WINDS 
COMING FROM THE SOUTHWEST TO THE NORTHEAST. THIS CONVERGENT PATTERN 
INDICATED DAMAGE WAS CAUSED BY A F1 TORNADO WITH WIND SPEEDS 
ESTIMATED AROUND 100 MPH. THE WIDTH OF THE DAMAGE PATH WAS 
APPROXIMATELY 100 YARDS WIDE WITH A TOTAL DAMAGE PATH LENGTH OF ONE 
HALF MILE.

ANOTHER AREA OF DAMAGE WAS UNCOVERED ALONG STATE ROUTE 78 BETWEEN 
US-155 AND STATE ROUTE 104. PARTIAL DAMAGE TO SIGNS AND 
BUILDINGS/STRUCTURES ALONG WITH TREE DAMAGE RESULTED FROM STRAIGHT 
LINE WIND DAMAGE. 

...HENRY COUNTY TENNESSEE TORNADO...

PARIS TENNESSEE...A TORNADO STRUCK THE PARIS COMMUNITY DURING THE 
MID EVENING HOURS. THE DAMAGE TRACK BEGAN APPROXIMATELY 2 MILES EAST 
FROM THE TOWN OF COMO...NEAR THE WEAKLEY/HENRY COUNTY LINE ON ROUTE 
54. MOST OF THE DAMAGE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE TRACK WAS LARGE TREES 
SNAPPED IN HALF AND A FEW LARGE TREES UPROOTED. SOME TREES FELL ONTO 
RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES...RESULTING IN MOSTLY PARTIAL DAMAGE TO THOSE 
STRUCTURES. FURTHER INTO THE WESTERN SECTION OF DOWNTOWN PARIS...A 
SMALL HANDFUL OF RESIDENTIAL HOMES SUSTAINED PARTIAL STRUCTURE 
DAMAGE ALONG WITH MODERATE DAMAGE TO A 9TH GRADE OUTDOOR SPORTS 
FACILITY. SEVERAL RADIO COMMUNICATION TOWERS WERE BENT IN HALF. A 
LARGE TREE FELL ON THE NORTHWEST SIDE OF THE COURTHOUSE DAMAGING THE 
UPPER STORY AND ADJACENT ROOF. THE DAMAGE ALONG THIS PATH ALSO 
INDICATED TORNADIC F1 DAMAGE WITH WIND SPEEDS ESTIMATED AROUND 90 
MPH. THE DAMAGE PATH WIDTH RANGED FROM 200 YARDS WEST OF PARIS TO 
ABOUT 300 YARDS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS. THE TOTAL DAMAGE PATH LENGTH 
OF THE TORNADO WAS 8 1/4 MILES.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND ON THE NWS MEMPHIS WEB SITE. 
FURTHER INFORMATION WILL BE PROVIDED CONCERNING POSSIBLE TORNADO 
DAMAGE FROM OCTOBER 19TH 2004.

...TORNADO DAMAGE F-SCALE RATINGS FOR REFERENCE...

F0...40 TO 72 MPH
F1...73 TO 112 MPH
F2...113 TO 157 MPH
F3...158 TO 206 MPH
F4...207 TO 260 MPH
F5...261 TO 318 MPH

$$

CHASKELSON/CORDERO/HOWELL