Clarksville tornado damage survey completed: 150-mph winds destroyed 243 residences

The National Weather Service on Tuesday completed a survey of damage from the tornado that hit Clarksville last weekend. They determined that it was an EF-3 storm with 150 mile per hour winds. 

The path of destruction in Montgomery County was 600 yards wide and 11 miles long before it crossed into Kentucky.

The tornado first touched down at 1:41 p.m. in Fort Campbell just north of Sabre Airfield with mostly minor tree damage, according to the NWS report. It quickly intensified as crossed Walnut Grove Road and destroyed the Clarksville School of Fine Arts.

The tornado then damaged dozens of homes in a neighborhood along Garrettsburg Road near Purple Heart Highway. At this point, it was an EF2/120 mph tornado.

The tornado then went through a heavily wooded neighborhood south of Britton Springs Road where dozens of mobile and manufactured homes were destroyed. 

The tornado intensified to 140 mph as it crossed Highway 41 and struck several commercial businesses, including a strip mall.

As the tornado continued northeast, it strengthened further to 150 mph, destroying four two-story brick and vinyl siding homes on Henry Place Boulevard, where two people were killed in separate houses: Donna Allen, 59, of Florida, and Arlan Coty, 10.

The tornado then crossed Interstate 24 at Trenton Road. It caused EF-1 to EF-2 roof and siding damage to dozens of homes across three neighborhoods before moving into Kentucky.

The storm crossed the state line at 1:56 p.m., for a 15-minute tornado event.

Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency officials said 243 residential sites were destroyed. In all, 1,974 residential sites, 58 commercial sites and 3 public facilities were hit by the tornado. Officials from the Fort Campbell military base said that 250 soldiers and their families were displaced by the storm.

Earlier this week, NWS staff from Paducah helped determine that in Kentucky, the tornado was also an EF-2 storm and continued on the ground for another 31 miles with winds up to 125 miles per hour.  



(Mark Zaleski/AP Photo)