Tornado and Damaging Wind in Tennessee, April 16, 1998

Name: Tornado and Damaging Wind in Tennessee, April 16, 1998
Start: 1998-04-16T16:35
End: 1998-04-16T18:30
Location: Tennessee

April 16, 1998 · NWS OHX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

1 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind, 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
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 4
Property damage: $10 million
Crop damage: $1.0 million
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 Nashville radar (KOHX), 128 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:35 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Pickett

When: April 16, 4:35 PM CST to 4:50 PM CST
Where: Pickett County, Byrdstown to 4 mi ENE of Red Hill
Rating: F3
Path length: 8.6 mi
Path width: 880 yd
Injuries: 4 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $10 million
Crop damage: $1.0 million
Coordinates: 36.530, -85.180

40 homes and 22 mobile homes were destroyed from this tornado. 95% of the trees were destroyed in the path of the tornado. 45 utility poles were blown down. 100 barns were destroyed, 2 green houses were heavily damaged, and there was damage to fences and pasture land. There were 4 people injured, but they were treated and released.

Thunderstorm Wind, Franklin

When: April 16, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Franklin County, 1 mi S of Old Salem
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 35.070, -86.250

A tree was blown down. A large tree limb from this tree was impaled into the side of a house. Part of the facade to the house was also broken off due to the thunderstorm winds.

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.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Tennessee in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Tennessee, 1998 Warnings in Tennessee, April 1998

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: 5641235, 5641236.