Tornado, Franklin
- When
- April 21, 10:55 PM CST to 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Franklin County, Fern
- Rating
- F2
- Path length
- 3 mi
- Path width
- 400 yd
- Injuries
- 2 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $500,000
- Coordinates
- 35.620, -94.030
Tornado in Arkansas, April 21, 1996
The tornado touched down just to the southwest of Fern. It moved northeastward, through the town of Fern, where 7 homes were destroyed and a number of other buildings were damaged.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 2
- Property damage
- $500,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS LZK wrote it up.
The tornado touched down just to the southwest of Fern. It moved northeastward, through the town of Fern, where 7 homes were destroyed and a number of other buildings were damaged. The tornado continued moving northeastward and lifted 3 miles northeast of Fern. A number of trees were blown down along the tornado's path. 2 people sustained minor injuries from the storm. Initial estimates place the amount of damage at around $500,000.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes in Arkansas, April 21, 1996
- Tornado in Arkansas, April 21, 1996
- Tornado in Oklahoma, April 21, 1996
- Hail in Kansas, April 21, 1996
- Tornado in Oklahoma, April 21, 1996
- Hail in Texas, April 21, 1996
- Tornado in Oklahoma, April 21, 1996
- Hail in Texas, April 21, 1996
- Tornado in Oklahoma, April 21, 1996
- Hail in Texas, April 21, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, April 21, 1996
- Tornado in Oklahoma, April 21, 1996
More
Every storm in Arkansas in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Arkansas, 1996Warnings in Arkansas, April 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5544090.