WAYNE COUNTY, TENN. (WTVF) — Saturday the National Weather Service in Nashville began surveying storm damage from Friday night/Saturday morning’s severe weather. After going to both Wayne and Lewis Counties they determined that an EF2 tornado hit the area with peak winds of 130 mph.
The tornado actually began in McNairy County, Tennessee before traveling through Hardin County, and eventually into Wayne County. Once in Wayne County, the tornado was on the ground for 38 miles before lifting in Lewis County.
Many homes and buildings were damaged, and trees were uprooted. One person was injured in Wayne County.
The EF2 tornado was determined to be half a mile wide. You can find the complete report from the National Weather Service in Nashville below.
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TNZ005>011-023>034-056>066-075-077>080-093>095-022045-
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
331 AM CDT SUN APR 2 2023
...NWS NASHVILLE DAMAGE SURVEY FOR 3/31-4/1/2023 WAYNE/LEWIS COUNTY TORNADO...
THIS DAMAGE SURVEY REFERS TO THE NWS NASHVILLE PORTION OF A LONG TRACK TORNADO THAT BEGAN IN MCNAIRY COUNTY AND CONTINUED ACROSS HARDIN COUNTY BEFORE MOVING THROUGH WAYNE AND LEWIS COUNTIES. PLEASE REFER TO NWS MEMPHIS DAMAGE SURVEYS FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE MCNAIRY AND HARDIN COUNTY PORTIONS OF THIS TORNADO PATH.
ADDITIONAL DAMAGE SURVEYS OF LIKELY TORNADO PATHS WILL BE CONDUCTED OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS IN MARSHALL, RUTHERFORD, CANNON, AND MACON COUNTIES.
WAYNE/LEWIS COUNTY PORTION OF LONG TRACK TORNADO...
RATING: EF2
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 130 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: APPROXIMATELY 38 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: APPROXIMATELY 1/2 MILE
FATALITIES: 0
INJURIES: 1
START DATE: 03/31/2023
START TIME: 11:56 PM CDT
START LOCATION: 2 SSW CLIFTON / WAYNE COUNTY / TN
START LAT/LON: 35.3542 / -88.0075
END DATE: 04/01/2023
END TIME: 12:37 AM CDT
END LOCATION: 10 WSW MOUNT PLEASANT / LEWIS COUNTY / TN
END LAT/LON: 35.5278 / -87.3681
SURVEY SUMMARY:
THIS MAJOR, LONG TRACK TORNADO BEGAN IN MCNAIRY COUNTY AND CONTINUED ACROSS HARDIN COUNTY BEFORE MOVING INTO WAYNE COUNTY SOUTHWEST OF CLIFTON. PLEASE REFER TO NWS MEMPHIS DAMAGE SURVEYS FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE MCNAIRY AND HARDIN COUNTY PORTIONS OF THIS TORNADO PATH. THE TORNADO ENTERED WAYNE COUNTY AROUND 2 MILES. SOUTH OF CLIFTON AND CONTINUED NORTHEAST, PASSING ACROSS HIGHWAY 641 NEAR TOM HOLT ROAD WHERE SEVERAL HOMES AND OUTBUILDINGS WERE HEAVILY DAMAGED AND DOZENS OF TREES BLOWN DOWN. FURTHER NORTHEAST, THE TORNADO STRUCK THE LEATHERWOOD COMMUNITY ALONG BEECH CREEK ROAD, WHERE A FEW POORLY CONSTRUCTED HOMES WERE LEVELED AND OTHERS HEAVILY DAMAGED. ONE WOMAN WAS CRITICALLY INJURED IN THIS AREA AND AIRLIFTED TO THE HOSPITAL. THE TORNADO THEN CROSSED HIGHWAY 13 ABOUT 6 MILES NORTH OF WAYNESBORO BEFORE MOVING THROUGH THE TOPSY AND ASHLAND COMMUNITIES, SNAPPING AND UPROOTING HUNDREDS OF MORE TREES. THE TORNADO ENTERED LEWIS COUNTY ALONG COTHRAN ROAD AND CONTINUED NORTHEAST ACROSS SEIBER RIDGE ROAD, ROCKHOUSE ROAD, HOWARD SWITCH ROAD, BUFFALO ROAD, AND THE NATCHEZ TRACE PARKWAY AT SUMMERTOWN HIGHWAY, BLOWING DOWN HUNDREDS OF MORE TREES AND DAMAGING SEVERAL HOMES AND OUTBUILDINGS.
THE LAST DAMAGE WAS SEEN ON TIGER BENNETT ROAD, ALTHOUGH REPORTS INDICATE THE TORNADO MAY HAVE CONTINUED FURTHER TO NEAR THE MAURY COUNTY LINE BEFORE LIFTING. THE TORNADO PATH LENGTH AND WIDTH WILL BE REFINED OVER THE COMING DAYS AS NEWLY AVAILABLE SATELLITE AND DRONE IMAGERY BECOMES AVAILABLE.
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE WAYNE AND LEWIS COUNTY EMAS AS WELL AS THE PERILS PROJECT FOR THEIR HELP WITH THIS DAMAGE SURVEY.
&&
EF SCALE: THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES INTO THE
FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:
EF0...WEAK......65 TO 85 MPH
EF1...WEAK......86 TO 110 MPH
EF2...STRONG....111 TO 135 MPH
EF3...STRONG....136 TO 165 MPH
EF4...VIOLENT...166 TO 200 MPH
EF5...VIOLENT...>200 MPH
NOTE:
THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT AND PUBLICATION IN NWS STORM DATA.
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