NWS Releases Report On March 31 Benton County Tornado

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The National Weather Service (NWS) in Memphis released its report on Wednesday of the tornado that touched down in Benton County on March 31.

The report says the tornado touched down at 10:29 p.m. along an elevated area and led to the collapse of walls and removal of much of the roof of a metal outbuilding along Sawmill Road. The tornado also ripped limbs off of trees along Cedar Grove Church Road. The tornado then left the ground at 10:30 p.m.

The report also says the activity was determined to be tornadic based on the convergent damage pattern and vertical lift of roof panels into trees behind the outbuilding.

The NWS rated the tornado as an EF-0 with an estimated peak wind of 85 miles per hour. Its path was 0.62 miles long.