Storm surveys have been completed examining storm damage that occurred in the early evening hours on Friday, April 10th.  All tornado ratings use the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

A tornado touched down approximately 2.5 miles south southeast of Grant along Campbell Mill Road. A few houses sustained minor roof damage on the southeast side of Grant, and at least two mobile homes sustained major damage from falling trees. The tornado continued east crossing Old Union Road, Columbus City Road, and Cardessa Lane before descending into the Tennessee River Valley. The tornado crossed Highway 79 at approximately 307 PM CDT at the Baker Mountain Road intersection. At this point, the damage path width was just below a half mile wide. One woman was injured when a tree fell on her car near the Waterfront grocery. Several houses sustained substantial damage on the east side of Highway 79, and many trees were snapped and uprooted. The roof was blown off of one home, and a brick wall collapsed. The tornado crossed a small inlet onto the south side of Preston Island, wiping out several boat docks and boat houses. Several homes sustained significant damage on the island from falling trees. At least two wood homes had complete roof collapse and partial wall collapse.

The tornado crossed Lake Guntersville into the South Sauty community. At this point, the damage path width increased to at least a half mile. Several well built homes were damaged by falling trees along Menominee Road. At least 20 boat houses were destroyed in the community. Along Chilcotin Road, a well constructed two story brick house lost its roof, and two large stone walls on the top level were blown over. Falling trees damaged several camper trailers, and one trailer was blown into Lake Guntersville. Thousands of trees were uprooted or snapped along the path of the tornado in Marshall county. The tornado then crossed the CR 67 causeway into Jackson County. On the causeway, tornado winds damaged the shoulder of the roadway as it crossed.

The tornado then continued along a path across southern Jackson county and west central Dekalb county. Several mobile homes were destroyed in the Macedonia community along with numerous large trees uprooted and snapped. Three TVA high voltage powerline towers also collapsed. As the tornado approached Powell, a double wide manufactured home was shifted off its foundation with total roof collapse and complete destruction to the front of the home. Just on the east side of Highway 35, a large metal industrial building that was securely anchored into the ground was completely destroyed. In Sylvania, significant damage occurred to several homes in the Stonebrook subdvision. One home was completely lifted off its foundation and driven nearly 4 feet into the ground. sporadic damage continued just to the east of Sylvania until the tornado apparently lifted between 335 and 340 PM CDT, just south of the Mahan Crossroads community in west central Dekalb County.

Radar Data

To view a radar animation of the Preston Island/South Sauty/Langston/Sylvania tornado, click here. The animation shows imagery from 3:02pm until 3:35pm.

This National Weather Service radar image from 3:11pm shows a very strong and tight velocity couplet between Preston Island and Langston. At this point, the tornado was likely moving off Guntersville Lake into the South Sauty area. The base reflectivity product in the left panel, which shows rainfall intensity, shows a classic hook echo, with the darker red and purple areas likely representing areas that were receiving hail. The storm relative velocity product in the right panel shows winds toward (in green) and away (in red) from the radar at Hytop. This particular image shows winds of around 65 mph relative to the storm inbound toward the radar directly next winds of 65 mph relative to the storm outbound from the radar.

This National Weather Service radar image from 3:30pm shows a strong velocity couplet between Powell and Sylvania. This is around the time the tornado reached its peak intensity. The base reflectivity product in the left panel, which shows rainfall intensity, continues to show an impessive hook echo, with the darker red and purple areas likely representing areas that were receiving hail. The storm relative velocity product in the right panel shows winds toward (in green) and away (in red) from the radar at Hytop.

To see all storm reports from this event, click here.

Additional Coverage from Regional NWS Offices

Jackson, MS (central and southern Mississippi)
• Storm Overview and Survey Information

Little Rock, AR (central Arkansas)
• Storm Overview and Survey Information

Paducah, KY (western Kentucky and southeast Missouri)
• Storm Reports, Photos, Radar Imagery