Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Tennessee, April 16, 1998

Name: Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Tennessee, April 16, 1998
Start: 1998-04-16T01:35
End: 1998-04-16T19:00
Location: Tennessee

April 16, 1998 · NWS MEG · 25 events in 12 counties and zones

12 hail, 8 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 1 flash flood, 1 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 2
Injuries: 5
Property damage: $528,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 25

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 Paducah radar (KPAH), 99 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:35 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

12 hail, 8 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 1 flash flood, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Lake

When: April 16, 1:35 AM CST to 1:40 AM CST
Where: Lake County, Tiptonville
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $10
Coordinates: 36.380, -89.480

Thunderstorm Wind, Lake

When: April 16, 2:35 AM CST to 2:40 AM CST
Where: Lake County, Wynnburg
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 36.330, -89.480

A carport was torn from a house and blown onto a nearby highway.

Tornado, Dyer

When: April 16, 3:00 AM CST to 3:15 AM CST
Where: Dyer County, Ro Ellen to 2 mi E of Ro Ellen
Rating: F3
Path length: 4 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Deaths: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 36.030, -89.320

The tornado started west of Ro Ellen and moved east. One mobile home with two persons inside was destroyed. The two persons in the mobile home were killed. Two other mobile homes were destroyed. A brick home was destroyed with a truck thrown on top of the house. Several other homes were damaged. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down. Debris from this tornado such as old income tax forms and life insurance policies were found near Dyer, Tennessee in nearby Gibson county. This meant the debris travelled about 15 miles.

Tornado, Crockett

When: April 16, 3:20 AM CST to 3:30 AM CST
Where: Crockett County, Maury City to Crockett Mills
Rating: F2
Path length: 5 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $172,000
Coordinates: 35.820, -89.230

The tornado touched down in Maury City and moved northeast toward Crockett Mills. One mobile home was destroyed. Seven houses were damaged. Five farm sheds were destroyed. Several trees were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Henry

When: April 16, 3:25 AM CST to 3:45 AM CST
Where: Henry County, Cottage Grove to 2 mi NE of Paris
Property damage: $40,000
Coordinates: 36.380, -88.520

Several homes had screen doors torn off of them or roof damage. Some lumber was scattered about a lumberyard. A 40'X36' barn was blown down. A pavilion at a cemetery was badly damaged. Numerous large trees were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Carroll

When: April 16, 3:55 AM CST to 4:00 AM CST
Where: Carroll County, Cedar Grove
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 35.820, -88.600

One house lost part of its roof and its carport was torn off. Five large trees were also blown down.

Flash Flood, Weakley

When: April 16, 6:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Weakley County, Dresden
Property damage: $1,000
Coordinates: 36.298, -88.718 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rainfall caused several roads in the area to flood. Two vehicles were forced off the road. Several trees fell down because of the saturated soil.

Hail, Obion

When: April 16, 7:25 AM CST
Where: Obion County, Hornbeak
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $750
Coordinates: 36.330, -89.300

Hail, Henderson

When: April 16, 1:15 PM CST to 1:20 PM CST
Where: Henderson County, Reagan
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $100
Coordinates: 35.520, -88.350

Hail, Hardeman

When: April 16, 1:25 PM CST to 1:30 PM CST
Where: Hardeman County, Middleton
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $100
Coordinates: 35.070, -88.900

Hail, Henderson

When: April 16, 1:50 PM CST to 1:55 PM CST
Where: Henderson County, Reagan
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $100
Coordinates: 35.520, -88.350

Hail, McNairy

When: April 16, 1:53 PM CST to 2:00 PM CST
Where: McNairy County, Selmer
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Property damage: $250
Coordinates: 35.180, -88.600

Hail, Hardin

When: April 16, 2:15 PM CST to 2:20 PM CST
Where: Hardin County, Crump
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $100
Coordinates: 35.220, -88.320

Hail, McNairy

When: April 16, 3:20 PM CST to 3:25 PM CST
Where: McNairy County, Selmer
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $750
Coordinates: 35.180, -88.600

Hail, Chester

When: April 16, 3:25 PM CST to 3:30 PM CST
Where: Chester County, Jacks Creek
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $10
Coordinates: 35.470, -88.530

Thunderstorm Wind, Chester

When: April 16, 3:25 PM CST to 3:35 PM CST
Where: Chester County, Henderson
Property damage: $1,000
Coordinates: 35.430, -88.670

Several trees were knocked down.

Tornado, Chester

When: April 16, 3:33 PM CST to 3:40 PM CST
Where: Chester County, Henderson
Rating: F0
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 25 yd
Property damage: $1,000
Coordinates: 35.430, -88.670

A tornado briefly touched down in Henderson.

Hail, Chester

When: April 16, 3:40 PM CST to 3:45 PM CST
Where: Chester County, Henderson
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $100
Coordinates: 35.430, -88.670

Thunderstorm Wind, Henderson

When: April 16, 3:50 PM CST to 3:55 PM CST
Where: Henderson County, Reagan
Property damage: $1,000
Coordinates: 35.520, -88.350

Several trees were blown down.

Hail, Hardeman

When: April 16, 4:10 PM CST to 4:15 PM CST
Where: Hardeman County, Middleton
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $750
Coordinates: 35.070, -88.900

Thunderstorm Wind, Hardin

When: April 16, 4:45 PM CST to 4:50 PM CST
Where: Hardin County, Savannah
Property damage: $1,000
Coordinates: 35.230, -88.250

A few trees were knocked down.

Thunderstorm Wind, McNairy

When: April 16, 4:50 PM CST to 4:55 PM CST
Where: McNairy County, Selmer
Property damage: $1,000
Coordinates: 35.180, -88.600

Several trees were knocked down.

Hail, McNairy

When: April 16, 4:55 PM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where: McNairy County, Adamsville
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $750
Coordinates: 35.230, -88.400

Thunderstorm Wind, Hardin

When: April 16, 5:15 PM CST to 5:20 PM CST
Where: Hardin County, Savannah
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 35.230, -88.250

Several homes had their roofs blown off. A few large trees were knocked down.

Flood, Hardin

When: April 16, 5:30 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where: Hardin County, Savannah
Property damage: $1,000
Coordinates: 35.199, -88.184 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Three inches of rain over a three-hour period porduced street flooding in Savannah.

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.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tornado, Dyer	1998-04-16	47	Male	Mobile/Trailer Home	Direct
Tornado, Dyer	1998-04-16	47	Female	Mobile/Trailer Home	Direct

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.
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.
Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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: 5642012, 5642127, 5642013, 5642126, 5642134, 5642148, 5642135, 5642128, 5642129, 5642130, 5642131, 5642132, 5642133, 5642139, 5642136, 5642137, 5642140, 5642138, 5642141, 5642142, 5642143, 5642144, 5642145, 5642146, 5642147.