What the record says
On 2 May 1953, a tornado touched down near Decatur, Tennessee. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 4.2 miles long and up to 33 yards wide, rated F4 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 4 people and injured 8.
- F4Fujita rating
- 4deaths
- 8injuries
- 4.2 mipath length
- 33 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 4 or 5 and it killed three or more people.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
The start point was at 35.52, -84.78 and the end point at 35.53, -84.72 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in Tennessee
- Athens, Alabama tornado27 April 2011, EF5, 72 deaths, 145 injuries, 132 miles long
- Cary, Mississippi tornado21 February 1971, F4, 58 deaths, 795 injuries, 202.1 miles long
- Woodland Mills, Tennessee tornado10 December 2021, EF4, 57 deaths, 515 injuries, 168.5 miles long
- Bolivar, Tennessee tornado21 March 1952, F4, 38 deaths, 157 injuries, 46.8 miles long
- Gallatin, Tennessee tornado5 February 2008, EF3, 22 deaths, 63 injuries, 50.3 miles long
- Cleveland, Tennessee tornado27 April 2011, EF4, 20 deaths, 335 injuries, 48 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1953
- Flushing, Michigan tornado8 June 1953, F5, 116 deaths, 844 injuries, 18.9 miles long
- Waco, Texas tornado11 May 1953, F5, 114 deaths, 597 injuries, 20.9 miles long
- Framingham, Massachusetts tornado9 June 1953, F4, 94 deaths, 1,228 injuries, 34.9 miles long
- Vicksburg, Mississippi tornado5 December 1953, F5, 38 deaths, 270 injuries, 9 miles long
- Warner Robins, Georgia tornado30 April 1953, F4, 18 deaths, 300 injuries, 1 mile long
All tornadoes of 1953 · Tennessee tornado history · All notable tornadoes