January 1999 Tornado Outbreak Sequence - Jackson, Tennessee Area Tornadoes

Jackson, Tennessee Area Tornadoes

Jackson, Tennessee was hit by two devastating tornadoes on the evening of January 17. The first tornado began south of Eurekaton in Haywood County at about 6:15 pm CST (0015 UTC) and tracked across rural areas towards the Madison County line. In Haywood County, there were 12 houses destroyed along with several farm buildings. The damage picked up more as it passed through Mercer and Denmark, where several more houses were destroyed. Severe damage was also reported at the McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport where several buildings were flattened and equipment was destroyed. The tornado crossed into the north side of Jackson, where severe damage was reported to 38 houses and apartments; most of which were destroyed. The first tornado dissipated at about 6:25 pm CST (0025 UTC). Two people were injured by the first tornado, which was rated as an F3 on the Fujita scale.

The second tornado developed east of Bemis at 6:25 pm when the first tornado dissipated. The tornado crossed into the southern part of Jackson, severely damaging the city. Over 200 homes and numerous businesses were destroyed or flattened and hundreds of others were damaged. Some of the demolished buildings include portions of a shopping center, the athletic fields of a high school, a school bus garage, half of an apartment building and a funeral home. Six people were killed and 106 were injured by this tornado, which was rated F4.