January 21–23, 1999 tornado outbreak

January 21–23, 1999 tornado outbreak

A home destroyed by the F3 Little Rock, Arkansas tornado
Date(s)	January 21–23, 1999
Duration	~2 days
Confirmed tornadoes	127 confirmed
Maximum rated tornado	F4 (Fujita scale)
Damages	$90.5 million
Casualties	9 fatalities, 162 injuries

From January 18–23, 1999, the largest tornado outbreak on record during January took place across the Mississippi River Valley. Over the course of roughly two days, 127 tornadoes touched down across the region, resulting in widespread damage. Nine people were killed by the tornadoes. The outbreak is best known for an F3 that struck Little Rock, Arkansas, killing 3 people.

Confirmed tornadoes

January 21 event

January 22 event

January 23 event

Little Rock, Arkansas tornadoes

The Little Rock area was slammed by a strong tornado on the evening of January 21. The tornado began in Saline County south of Vimy Ridge at 6:24 pm CST (0024 UTC). Before crossing the Pulaski County line, it did moderate damage to several houses and significant damage to a mobile home.^[1] It crossed into Pulaski County at 6:33 pm, where moderate roof damage was reported to several buildings along the Interstate 30 corridor. It continued eastward and did most of its devastation just south of the downtown area.^[2]

There was severe damage reported to over 235 buildings, many of which were destroyed. One of the destroyed buildings included a large grocery store, a Harvest Foods, where one person was killed. Over 500 other buildings sustained lesser damage. Some of the houses damaged that were in the historic district were also condemned due to there being lead smelt beneath them. Trees and power lines were also knocked down throughout the area. Damage was also reported on the property of the Arkansas Governor's Mansion, where many trees were knocked down. As the tornado left the downtown vicinity, it weakened as it crossed Interstate 40. It weakened in the northeastern suburbs, near Sherwood at 6:53 pm CST, after being on the ground for 29 minutes and travelling 22 miles (35 km). The first tornado was rated as an F3 tornado on the Fujita scale^[2]

As the first tornado dissipated, a second tornado developed in eastern Pulaski County. While it remained in more rural settings, it also destroyed several buildings, including a storage facility. It also knocked over several tractor-trailers before crossing into Lonoke County.^[3] Extensive damage was also reported in Lonoke County, where the South Bend community was hit hard. 12 houses, 11 mobile homes and several farm buildings were damaged or destroyed in Lonoke County. The tornado dissipated at 7:02 pm CST (0102 UTC) southwest of Cabot. It was an F2 tornado.^[4]

Three people died in the tornadoes (all due to the first F3). One of them was in the destroyed grocery store, another was in a vehicle hit by a tree, and the third was in a mobile home that was destroyed. 78 other people were injured by the tornado.^[2][3]

See also

• Tornadoes of 1999
• January 17–18, 1999 tornado outbreak
• 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak
• List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks

References