F1 tornado, Buladeen to Bakers Gap, Tennessee, June 3, 1998

1. F040 to 72 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. F173 to 112 mphthis tornado

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. F4207 to 260 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. 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.

7. 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.

Rating

F1

Date

June 3, 1998

Touchdown

8:15 PM EDT (00:15 UTC)

Path length

9.5 miles (15.3 km)

Path width

80 yards (73 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

3

Property damage

$200,000

Counties

Johnson and Carter counties

Touchdown point

36.480, -82.020

Lift-off point

36.430, -81.970

Record number

499

The tornadoes short path in the county was intermittent. In the community of Holly Springs, the NWS survey team observed numerous trees uprooted or broken off, all lying in the same direction implying straight-line winds. Power lines were also either blown down or taken down by falling trees. Minor structural damage occurred to Holly Springs Baptist Church, including hail damage. One garage attached to a house was destroyed. A hickory tree, about two feet in diameter, fell on a barn destroying the barn and a tractor. The nearby house was also damaged by the wind. In Stony Creek, dozens of trees were uprooted or broken off, with widespread powerlines also down. Several homes, including mobile homes, were damaged. Most of the damage lay in the same direction, implying straight-line winds. However two homes had structure damage that implied small tornadoes. One porch roof was blown backwards, against the apparent wind direction. Some trees lay in partially circular patterns, indicating locations of at least partial rotation. The tornado then moved southeast into Johnson County.

This is a continuation of the tornado originating in Carter County. The tornado's path continued to be intermittent. Near the community of Pandora, numerous trees were blown down or snapped off along hillsides and in river bottoms. Some trees were 1.5 feet in diameter. One home was totally destroyed, along with a mobile home on the same lot. The house was not attached to the foundation. Debris was scattered over the hillside over several acres. Mattresses from the home were found nearly a mile away at a convenience store, and family photos were found two miles away at the home of the sister of the owner of the destroyed house. A three-horse trailer was blown approximately one-quarter mile over the hilltop.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

13 minutes of warning. NWS MRX issued a tornado warning for this county at 00:02 UTC, 13 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 01:05 UTC.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Abingdon (VJI), 26 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The live radar over the trackEvery 1998 tornado in TennesseeEvery tornado in Tennessee since 1950Warnings in force in Tennessee nowThe forecast where you are

1 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.