Tornado, Smith
- When
- January 24, 5:28 PM CST to 5:38 PM CST
- Where
- Smith County, Brush Creek to Club Spgs
- Rating
- F2
- Path length
- 14 mi
- Path width
- 440 yd
- Injuries
- 6 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $1.0 million
- Coordinates
- 36.120, -86.030
Tornado in Tennessee, January 24, 1997
6 people were injured, none seriously, in the tornado that struck Smith county. 11 vehicles were destroyed and 7 vehicles damaged, 5 livestock killed, 22 outbuildings destroyed and one cattle trailer was destroyed.
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
- 6
- Property damage
- $1.0 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 OHX wrote it up.
6 people were injured, none seriously, in the tornado that struck Smith county. 11 vehicles were destroyed and 7 vehicles damaged, 5 livestock killed, 22 outbuildings destroyed and one cattle trailer was destroyed. 7 houses and 7 mobile homes were destroyed and 43 buildings received some damage from the tornado. Most of the damage occurred in the Brush Creek area. Numerous trees and power lines were down in southern Smith county. Tornado path length and width are approximations.
The radar
The Nashville radar (KOHX), 50 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:28 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 and Hail in Tennessee, January 24, 1997
- Tornado in Alabama, January 24, 1997
- Tornadoes in Kentucky, January 24, 1997
- Tornado in Tennessee, January 24, 1997
- Tornado in Tennessee, January 24, 1997
- Tornado in Tennessee, January 24, 1997
- Tornado in Tennessee, January 24, 1997
- Tornado in Tennessee, January 24, 1997
- Tornado in Tennessee, January 24, 1997
- Tornado in Tennessee, January 24, 1997
- Flash Flood in California, January 24 to 25, 1997
- Tornado in Tennessee, January 24, 1997
More
Every storm in Tennessee in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Tennessee, 1997Warnings in Tennessee, January 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: 5589729.