What the record says
On 21 March 1952, a tornado touched down near Bolivar, Tennessee. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 46.8 miles long and up to 177 yards wide, rated F4 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 38 people and injured 157.
- F4Fujita rating
- 38deaths
- 157injuries
- 46.8 mipath length
- 177 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 35.27, -88.98 and the end point at 35.63, -88.28 (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
- 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
- Cookeville, Tennessee tornado3 March 2020, EF4, 19 deaths, 87 injuries, 8.4 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1952
- Searcy, Arkansas tornado21 March 1952, F4, 50 deaths, 325 injuries, 14.6 miles long
- Cotton Plant, Arkansas tornado21 March 1952, F4, 29 deaths, 180 injuries, 13.1 miles long
- Cooter, Missouri tornado21 March 1952, F4, 17 deaths, 100 injuries, 6.5 miles long
- Byhalia, Mississippi tornado21 March 1952, F4, 16 deaths, 74 injuries, 29.6 miles long
- Dyersburg, Tennessee tornado21 March 1952, F3, 10 deaths, 30 injuries, 18.1 miles long
All tornadoes of 1952 · Tennessee tornado history · All notable tornadoes