Tornadoes · United States · Arkansas · 1999
F1 tornado, Olyphant to Newport, Arkansas, January 21, 1999
From Olyphant to Newport, this F1 tornado ran 9.0 miles across Jackson and Independence counties on January 21, 1999, touching down at 8:20 PM CST and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody and injured 3.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F040 to 72 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mphthis tornado
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2113 to 157 mph
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3158 to 206 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5261 to 318 mph
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The record
- Rating
- F1
- Date
- January 21, 1999
- Touchdown
- 8:20 PM CST (02:20 UTC)
- Path length
- 9.0 miles (14.5 km)
- Path width
- 100 yards (91 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 3
- Counties
- Jackson and Independence counties
- Touchdown point
- 35.500, -91.400
- Lift-off point
- 35.600, -91.280
- Record number
- 116
What the Weather Service recorded
A weak tornado was spawned in southwest Jackson County. The tornado developed just southwest of Olyphant and moved northeast toward town. The tornado caused minor damage...with mainly some tree damage and minor roof damage noted. The tornado then headed into southeast Independence County.
A weak tornado in southwest Jackson County moved into southeast Independence County about 5 miles southeast of Thida. The tornado moved through mostly rural areas and caused minor damage...with mainly some tree damage noted. The tornado then headed back into Jackson County.
A weak tornado in southeast Independence County moved into western Jackson County about 7 miles southwest of Newport. The tornado moved northeast toward Newport...causing minor damage. Mostly tree and roof damage were noted, with the tornado dissipating on the west side of town.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The surface observations
Batesville (Awos) (BVX), 34 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 UTC |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 115 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:20 UTC.
Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track
Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 1999 tornado in ArkansasEvery tornado in Arkansas since 1950Warnings in force in Arkansas nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of January 21, 1999
85 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 21 | 3:10 PM CST | F1 | Bolivar, MS | 2.0 | 100 | $30,000 | ||
| January 21 | 3:10 PM CST | F1 | Lafayette, AR | 11.1 | 0 | |||
| January 21 | 3:16 PM CST | F1 | Bolivar, MS | 2.0 | 0 | $30,000 | ||
| January 21 | 3:45 PM CST | F0 | Miller, AR | 4.0 | 0 | |||
| January 21 | 3:57 PM CST | F2 | Faulkner, AR | 8.0 | 250 | 7 | ||
| January 21 | 4:29 PM CST | F1 | Dallas, AR | 7.0 | 100 | |||
| January 21 | 4:29 PM CST | F3 | Dallas, AR | 11.0 | 500 | |||
| January 21 | 4:30 PM CST | F1 | Greene, AR | 4.0 | 50 | $70,000 | ||
| January 21 | 4:33 PM CST | F0 | Cross, AR | 0.1 | 10 | |||
| January 21 | 4:38 PM CST | F3 | White, AR | 19.0 | 700 | 2 | ||
| January 21 | 4:45 PM CST | F0 | Clay, AR | 12.0 | 50 | $10,000 | ||
| January 21 | 4:46 PM CST | F2 | White, AR | 16.0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| January 21 | 4:49 PM CST | F1 | Faulkner, AR | 16.0 | 0 | |||
| January 21 | 4:50 PM CST | F0 | Scott, MO | 0.8 | 40 | |||
| January 21 | 4:55 PM CST | F2 | Independence, AR | 20.0 | 500 | 3 | ||
| January 21 | 5:02 PM CST | F3 | Monroe, AR | 16.0 | 200 | 9 | $500,000 | |
| January 21 | 5:05 PM CST | F4 | Clay, AR | 16.0 | 400 | $1.0 million | ||
| January 21 | 5:11 PM CST | F1 | Jefferson, AR | 14.0 | 200 | 4 | $2.0 million | |
| January 21 | 5:25 PM CST | F0 | Lee, AR | 0.1 | 10 | |||
| January 21 | 5:25 PM CST | F0 | St. Francis, AR | 0.1 | 10 | |||
| January 21 | 5:30 PM CST | F1 | Jefferson, AR | 16.0 | 0 | |||
| January 21 | 5:32 PM CST | F0 | Butler, MO | 0.3 | 30 | |||
| January 21 | 5:34 PM CST | F1 | Hot Spring, AR | 2.0 | 100 | |||
| January 21 | 5:37 PM CST | F1 | Hot Spring, AR | 4.0 | 100 | |||
| January 21 | 5:38 PM CST | F1 | White, AR | 1.0 | 100 | |||
| January 21 | 5:47 PM CST | F2 | White, AR | 10.0 | 300 | |||
| January 21 | 5:50 PM CST | F0 | New Madrid, MO | 0.3 | 30 | |||
| January 21 | 6:00 PM CST | F0 | Stoddard, MO | 0.2 | 30 | |||
| January 21 | 6:00 PM CST | F0 | Lawrence, AR | 0.1 | 10 | |||
| January 21 | 6:05 PM CST | F3 | Independence, AR | 31.0 | 0 | $10,000 | ||
| January 21 | 6:05 PM CST | F0 | Dunklin, MO | 0.1 | 10 | |||
| January 21 | 6:13 PM CST | F2 | Prairie, AR | 7.0 | 250 | |||
| January 21 | 6:15 PM CST | F1 | Scott, MO | 0.8 | 40 | $50,000 | ||
| January 21 | 6:15 PM CST | F0 | St. Francis, AR | 0.1 | 10 | |||
| January 21 | 6:18 PM CST | F3 | Hot Spring, AR | 11.0 | 400 | |||
| January 21 | 6:20 PM CST | F2 | White, AR | 11.0 | 350 | 1 | 3 | |
| January 21 | 6:21 PM CST | F3 | Prairie, AR | 39.0 | 417 | |||
| January 21 | 6:24 PM CST | F3 | Saline, AR | 39.0 | 417 | 3 | 72 | |
| January 21 | 6:35 PM CST | F2 | Alexander, IL | 8.0 | 300 | $170,000 | ||
| January 21 | 6:38 PM CST | F1 | White, AR | 1.0 | 0 | |||
| January 21 | 6:42 PM CST | F2 | Pulaski, AR | 15.0 | 400 | 6 | ||
| January 21 | 6:50 PM CST | F1 | Clay, AR | 1.0 | 0 | $50,000 | ||
| January 21 | 6:54 PM CST | F1 | White, AR | 10.0 | 117 | |||
| January 21 | 7:02 PM CST | F0 | Woodruff, AR | 4.0 | 0 | |||
| January 21 | 7:05 PM CST | F2 | Lawrence, AR | 0.1 | 10 | |||
| January 21 | 7:11 PM CST | F0 | Sebastian, AR | 0.5 | 50 | |||
| January 21 | 7:13 PM CST | F0 | Union, IL | 0.3 | 30 | $1,000 | ||
| January 21 | 7:15 PM CST | F1 | Morehouse Parish, LA to AR | 27.0 | 200 | $120,000 | ||
| January 21 | 7:18 PM CST | F1 | Lonoke, AR | 2.0 | 200 | 1 | ||
| January 21 | 7:25 PM CST | F3 | White, AR | 8.0 | 1,000 | 2 | 29 | |
| January 21 | 7:25 PM CST | F2 | Clay, AR | 7.0 | 100 | $8.0 million | ||
| January 21 | 7:33 PM CST | F2 | Independence, AR | 7.0 | 400 | |||
| January 21 | 7:45 PM CST | F0 | West Carroll Parish, LA | 2.0 | 50 | $10,000 | ||
| January 21 | 7:59 PM CST | F0 | Pulaski, AR | 1.0 | 0 | |||
| January 21 | 8:01 PM CST | F2 | Rapides Parish, LA | 2.0 | 400 | 1 | $1.0 million | |
| January 21 | 8:10 PM CST | F0 | Craighead, AR | 5.0 | 10 | |||
| January 21 | 8:13 PM CST | F2 | Hempstead, AR | 21.1 | 50 | $30,000 | ||
| January 21 | 8:50 PM CST | F0 | Greene, AR | 0.1 | 10 | $10,000 | ||
| January 21 | 8:55 PM CST | F0 | Lawrence, AR | 7.0 | 0 | 1 | $60,000 | |
| January 21 | 9:07 PM CST | F0 | Catahoula Parish, LA | 1.0 | 50 |
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.