2023 Clarksville tornado
| EF3 tornado | |
|---|---|
 A home destroyed at EF3 intensity north of Clarksville and debris from the home thrown 200 yards (180 m). | |
| Formed | December 9, 2023, 1:42 p.m. CST (UTC−06:00) |
| Duration | 1 hour, 8 minutes |
| Dissipated | December 9, 2:49 p.m. CST (UTC−06:00) |
| Highest winds |
|
| Max. rating1 | EF3 tornado |
| Casualties | 4 fatalities[1] 61 injuries[1] |
| Areas affected | Clarksville metropolitan area in Montgomery County, Tennessee, Todd County, Logan County and Simpson County in Kentucky |
Part of the tornado outbreak of 2023 1Most severe tornado damage; see Enhanced Fujita scale | |
On December 9, 2023, an intense tornado struck the northern parts of the Clarksville metropolitan area in Tennessee before moving through Todd County, Logan County and into Simpson County in Kentucky. The tornado killed four people, including a child, and injured an additional 61 others.
Summary
[change | change source]The intense tornado touched down 5 miles (8 km) south of Fort Campbell North, Kentucky in Montgomery County, Tennessee and moved northeast.[1][2][3] The tornado caused EF0 damage to some trees before strengthening to high-end EF1 strength as the tornado completely destroyed the Clarksville School of Fine Arts as well as causing severe roof damage to nearby homes and a church. Several large trees in the area around the school were snapped as well. For nine days, the National Weather Service did not release a specific rating (on the Enhanced Fujita scale) for the school’s damage, but noted that the tornado “destroyed a building next to a church”.[4][5][1][2] On December 18, the National Weather Service surveyed and rated the damage to the school high-end EF1 with winds estimated at 110 miles per hour (180 km/h), however, the building was marked as a motel, rather than a school.[6]
After striking the school, the tornado strengthened to EF2 intensity as it crossed Tennessee State Route 374 (SR 374) and through multiple neighborhoods in Clarksville.[1][2] Several homes in this area were poorly anchored to their foundation, so the tornado shifted some of the homes off their foundation and even leveled others. Hundreds of trees were snapped in Clarksville as well.[1][2] In this area, a person who lived in one of the mobile homes that was destroyed, was injured by the tornado and a week after the tornado, she died from her injuries.[1][2] The tornado then strengthened even further to high-end EF2 intensity as it crested a hill south of Britton Springs Road. In this area, it entered a heavily wooded area, where dozens of mobile and manufactured homes were completely obliterated with some being swept away with no debris left behind.[1][2] The tornado killed three people here, including a ten-year-old boy.[1][7][8] Additional homes in this area were damaged, hundreds of trees were snapped, and another poorly anchored home was shifted off its foundations and leveled.[1][2]
In total, the tornado killed four people and injured 61 others as it traveled 47.76 miles (76.86 km).[3][9][10] 114 homes were destroyed while another 857 were damaged,[1][11] and at least 20,000 people were without power after the tornado in Clarksville alone.[12][13] The tornado also caused $45,000 in uninsured damage to the Clarksville School of Fine Arts.[14] Originally, the school was set to have a Christmas play on December 9 at 1 p.m. However, a student was leaving the country, so the play was moved up to December 2, which had 300 in attendance. The director of the school later stated, “If we would have had 300 people in the building on the ninth instead of the second, we would be talking about the destruction of possibly hundreds of lives because there’s nothing left of the theater.”[14]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s preliminary damage survey by county:
- National Weather Service in Nashville (11 December 2023). "Clarksville EF3 Tornado (Updated)" (Press release). Iowa Environmental Mesonet. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- National Weather Service in Nashville, Tennessee (10 December 2023). "Clarksville EF3 Tornado". Iowa Environmental Mesonet. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky (10 December 2023). "NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR 12/09/23 TODD COUNTY TORNADO EVENT". Iowa Enviromental Mesonet. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Various offices of the National Weather Service. "Damage Assessment Toolkit" (Interactive map). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Edmonds, Colbi; McGee, Jamie (December 10, 2023). "Six Dead and More Than 60 Injured After Severe Weather in Tennessee". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ↑ Smith, Chris (10 December 2023). "UPDATE: Clarksville EF-3 tornado had 150 mph winds, 91 homes destroyed, 675 damaged | VIDEO". Clarksville Now. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ↑ Urban, Hannah (10 December 2023). "Three people killed when an EF-3 tornado tore through Clarksville on Saturday". NewsChannel5. WTVF. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ↑ National Weather Service in Nashville, Tennessee (18 December 2023). "December 9, 2023 Tornado Outbreak". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ↑ Staff of CBS News and the Associated Press (10 December 2023). "At least 6 dead after severe storms, tornadoes hit Tennessee, leave trail of damage". CBS News. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ↑ Whittington, Jordan (10 December 2023). "GoFundMe launched for Clarksville boy, 10, killed in catastrophic tornado". Fox17. WZTV. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ↑ Staff of the Associated Press (11 December 2023). "Snowfall, rain, gusty winds hit Northeast as Tennessee recovers from deadly tornadoes". Associated Press (AP). Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
The tornado that hit Clarksville, Tennessee, on Saturday, killing three people and injuring 62, was an EF3, with peak winds of 150 mph (241 kph), the weather service office in Nashville announced. It was on the ground for more than an hour, traveling 43 miles (69 kilometers) across Montgomery County, Tennessee, and Todd and Logan counties in Kentucky. At its widest point the tornado's path was 600 yards (549 meters).
- ↑ Smith, Chris (December 19, 2023). "Death toll from Clarksville tornado rises to 4 with passing of 78-year-old woman". Clarksville Now. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
- ↑ Salahieh, Nouran; Rose, Andy; Dewberry, Sarah; Boyette, Chris; Gilbert, Mary; Williams, Ashley R. (11 December 2023). "Tennessee tornadoes leave at least 6 dead, dozens hurt and more than 35,000 without power" (News article). CNN. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ↑ "Massive cleanup underway after Tennessee EF-3 tornado as stories of survival emerge". Fox Weather. December 11, 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
- ↑ December 12, Chris Smith; Pm, 2023 2:11 (2023-12-12). "Report details 11.3-mile, 600-yard-wide path of tornado destruction in Clarksville - ClarksvilleNow.com". Retrieved 2024-03-16.
{{cite web}}:|first2=has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ 14.0 14.1 Fielder, Lydia (13 December 2023). "'Miracle' Clarksville school play rescheduling likely saved hundreds of lives from tornado" (News article). WSMV-TV. Archived from the original on 14 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
