Tennessee, 1997

Tornadoes in Tennessee, March 1, 1997

March 1, 1997 · NWS MEG · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A tornado developed in Mississippi county Arkansas near the town of Lennie. Three mobile homes were damaged or destroyed and a cotton trailer was over turned.

Where it happened

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

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
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  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
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  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
15
Property damage
$2.1 million
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.

What happened

The episode as NWS MEG wrote it up.

A tornado developed in Mississippi county Arkansas near the town of Lennie. Three mobile homes were damaged or destroyed and a cotton trailer was over turned. The tornado touched down again in Dyer county in Tennessee. The most severe damage with the tornado occurred in Dyer county. A thirteen-year-old girl was killed at her home which was destroyed by the tornado in the town of Finley. One hundred ninety building were damaged or destroyed in Dyer county including Dyer County High School. The tornado then continued into Gibson county where eight homes were damaged or destroyed. Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down as well.

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 70 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:59 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Dyer

When
March 1, 7:00 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where
Dyer County, Chic to Churchton
Rating
F4
Path length
15 mi
Path width
200 yd
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
15 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$2.0 million
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
35.950, -89.670

Tornado, Gibson

When
March 1, 7:30 PM CST to 7:45 PM CST
Where
Gibson County, Yorkville to 3 mi E of Rutherford
Rating
F4
Path length
10 mi
Path width
200 yd
Property damage
$100,000
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
36.100, -89.170

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Tornado, Dyer1997-03-0113FemaleMobile/Trailer HomeDirect

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 Tennessee in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Tennessee, 1997Warnings in Tennessee, March 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: 5623726, 5623727.