Tornadoes in Tennessee, January 22, 1999

This tornado resulted in the only fatality in Middle Tennessee from the severe weather outbreak of January 22,1999. The tornado killed a 50 year old woman who left her shelter in a brick ranch home located on Cedar Grove Road. She went outside to get her dogs inside her home, and that's when the tornado struck and killed her. Her husband remained inside the home and survived. There were 5 injuries from the tornado. A 1600 square foot frame home was moved 10 to 12 feet from its foundation. 12 homes were destroyed, 33 homes sustained damage and 5 businesses were damaged. Power lines and trees were blown down. The winds picked up a 7500 pound Cadillac, and hurled its engine 300-400 yards into a field. The chassis, its empty metal skin, was hurled even further.

An F3 tornado struck Clarksville at 415 AM, travelled through the downtown area and dissipated near St. Bethlehem. There were 5 injuries, 2 of them were for broken bones. Clarksville has a population of 89,000 people is Tennessee's fifth largest city. 25,000 people were without power. The Tornado Warning was issued by the NWS at 354 AM CST. The NOAA Weather Radio alerted the sleepy resident s of Clarksville and urge them to take cover immediately. The tornado ripped apart a 5 block area of downtown Clarksville and teared up buildings in Austin Peay State University. Once the tornado ravaged the city, downtown Clarksville resembled bombed-out London during World War 2. Bricks and glass were strewn everywhere. The photo editor of the Leaf-Chronicle newspaper s, Fred Dye, said "It looked like somebody walked through with a broom and knocked over whatever was loose enough to knock down." The Montgomery county court house was in ruins. The City Fathers planned on rebuilding the court house. It was last rebuilt after a fire in 1878. The Leaf-Chronicle newspaper office was severely damaged. The newspaper had to set up a temporary office in Hopkinsville, KY. 22 buildings were heavily damaged at Austin Peay State University. Also, several old churches were heavily damaged in Clarksville. The Madison Street United Methodist Church lost its spires and roof. It will take about 2 years to rebuild the church. The Trinity Episcopal Church lost its roof. Police closed off downtown Clarksville from 6 PM-6 AM in order to prevent looting. The National Guard was on duty as well. On January 23, FEMA Director James Lee Whitt toured the devastation. He exclaimed, "Wow!" "It's like someone dropped a bomb on it. That's just what it look like." There was a total of 124 buildings destroyed and 562 buildings damaged. These figures included residential, commercial, government, public and buildings at Austin Peay.

Downed trees were reported from Gorman to McEwen. The hardest hit area was McEwen with 4 homes totally destroyed, 8 homes having severe damage, and 38 homes receiving minor damage. 8 to 10 outbuildings were destroyed and 60 trees were lost. 8 cars or trucks were damaged or destroyed. A man suffered a broken neck in his trailer.