Tornado, Sharp
- When
- March 5, 8:15 PM CST to 8:45 PM CST
- Where
- Sharp County, Sidney to 3 mi ENE of Calamine
- Rating
- F3
- Path length
- 20 mi
- Path width
- 100 yd
- Property damage
- $1.5 million
- Coordinates
- 35.980, -91.720
Tornado in Arkansas, March 5, 1996
The Izard County tornado moved into Sharp County 2 3/4 miles west-southwest of Sidney at 815 pm. The tornado moved eastward and a few minutes later it struck the town of Sidney.
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
- 0
- Property damage
- $1.5 million
- 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 Izard County tornado moved into Sharp County 2 3/4 miles west-southwest of Sidney at 815 pm. The tornado moved eastward and a few minutes later it struck the town of Sidney. 20 homes in Sidney were either damaged or destroyed. The tornado traveled along Highway 58, damaging more homes, barns, and other outbuildings. The tornado then began moving more in a northeasterly direction toward the Calamine community. Several more homes and other buildings were damaged. The tornado exited Sharp County about 2 3/4 miles east-northeast of Calamine around 845 pm. Numerous trees and power lines were also blown down along the tornado's path.Much of the damage was consistent with an F2 rating, with some damage noted as F3 in intensity. Preliminary estimates place the amount of damage at around $1,500,000.
The radar
The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 136 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:15 UTC.
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
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 5, 1996
- Tornado in Mississippi, March 5, 1996
- Hail in Mississippi, March 5, 1996
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 5, 1996
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 5, 1996
- Tornado in Missouri, March 5, 1996
- Tornado in Missouri, March 5, 1996
- High Wind in Utah, March 5 to 6, 1996
- Winter Storm in New York, March 5, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Alabama, March 5, 1996
- Hail in Missouri, March 5, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Utah, March 5 to 6, 1996
More
Every storm in Arkansas in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Arkansas, 1996Warnings in Arkansas, March 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: 5548864.