Arkansas, 1997

Tornadoes in Arkansas, November 5, 1997

November 5, 1997 · NWS SHV · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

2 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
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  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$70,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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.

The radar

The Shreveport radar (KSHV), 158 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:27 UTC.

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Event by event

2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Howard

When
November 5, 4:25 PM CST to 4:27 PM CST
Where
Howard County, Nashville to 6 mi SE of Nashville
Rating
F0
Path length
0.4 mi
Path width
50 yd
Coordinates
33.870, -93.820

OES chased a funnel cloud from just southeast of Alpine, southeastward across extreme eastern Howard County into Hempstead County. The funnel lowered throughout the chase until it touched down and was classified as a tornado 5.5 miles south of Nashville, AR. Damage initially consisted of broken and felled trees. The tornado then moved over cleared pastureland and intensified on CR318 between Hwy 4 and CR 44; totally destroying several chicken coups...leaving the chickens untouched...felling a tree onto a car, and slightly damaging a house. The tornado then began to weaken and rapidly dissipated. Skywarn spotters living in the area, the Hempstead County Judge and OES were eyewitnesses to the event.

Tornado, Hempstead

When
November 5, 4:27 PM CST to 4:31 PM CST
Where
Hempstead County, Ozan to 7 mi W of Ozan
Rating
F1
Path length
2.8 mi
Path width
50 yd
Property damage
$70,000
Coordinates
33.880, -93.820

OES chased a funnel cloud from just southeast of Alpine, southeastward across extreme eastern Howard County into Hempstead County. The funnel lowered throughout the chase until it touched down and was classified as a tornado 5.5 miles south of Nashville, AR. Damage initially consisted of broken and felled trees. The tornado then moved over cleared pastureland and intensified on CR318 between Hwy 4 and CR 44; totally destroying several chicken coups...leaving the chickens untouched...felling a tree onto a car, and slightly damaging a house. The tornado then began to weaken and rapidly dissipated. Skywarn spotters living in the area, the Hempstead County Judge and OES were eyewitnesses to the event.

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

More

Every storm in Arkansas in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Arkansas, 1997Warnings in Arkansas, November 1997

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: 5622109, 5622110.