As we enter hurricane season, especially after Hurricane Ian just hit southern Florida hard, I can’t help but think of our own weather issues we have had here in Rutherford County the past hundred-plus years. Many of us have seen what hurricanes have done to much of the Gulf Coast and East Coast over the years. While the coastline states have to deal with the possibility of hurricanes, other states like California, Oregon and Washington have to deal with not only earthquakes but also the dreaded wildfires along with the Santa Ana winds that direct the wildfires wherever they decide to take the fire. No wonder the winds are also referred to as “the devil wind.”

With the influx of folks moving here from California and other places, some of these new Tennessee residents may not know our number one weather threat—the god-awful tornadic weather we have from time to time. With hurricanes, at least you can escape inland and get away from them for the most part. The difference between hurricanes and tornadoes is we don’t know exactly when the tornado is going to drop out of the sky and cause havoc below. (Of course, hurricanes also have spinoff tornadoes that create havoc through loss of life and property damage.)

I’m going to discuss some of the tornadoes that hit Rutherford County over the last century.

1997 Barfield Road Tornado

If you have lived in Murfreesboro for over 25 years you will probably remember the Barfield tornado that swept over the Southridge subdivision off of Barfield Road in the late afternoon of Jan. 23, 1997.

It was a F4 tornado with wind speeds of nearly 200 miles an hour. I vividly remember this one because I had just gotten off work and was driving back from Nashville on I-24.

I was getting off the Church Street exit headed to my home on Rucker Road in Christiana. I remember the sky looking dark green and everything being dark. What I didn’t know at the time was that an F4 tornado had just crossed Church Street in front of the Neil Sandler Buick dealership and the Indian Hills Golf Course (near hole number 15).

My sister and brother-in-law at the time lived in the Southridge subdivision on Daly Drive that was a direct hit of that same tornado. The tornado had started on Kimbro Road, then hit Southridge, crossed Church Street, and skipped over to Elam Road near Manchester Highway. The tornado injured 18 people and caused $5 million in damage.

Years later, an F3 tornado hit near Gum Road off Manchester Highway on April 28, 2002. There were 10 to 15 homes damaged and 20 people injured.

2009 Good Friday Tornado

A more recent one that many of us remember vividly was the Good Friday tornado that hit Murfreesboro on April 10, 2009. It was an F4 with wind speeds up to 170 m.p.h. The twister was on the ground for nearly 24 miles, with a maximum width of a half mile at times.

The initial touchdown was just north of Eagleville in southwestern Rutherford County near Kelly Road. Sadly, there were two fatalities caused by this tornado at the corner of Haynes Drive and Sulphur Springs Road. There were another 58 injuries. Over 845 homes were damaged; of those, 117 were destroyed, 298 had major damage, 175 had minor damage and 255 were affected. Over 500 other structures were also affected, including 77 destroyed.

There were 18,000 homes without power for several days. The tornado did extensive damage to the Highland Park/Wilkinson Pike area near the Battlefield and the Riverview subdivision off Thompson Lane and the Haynes Drive and Compton Road area.

With all of that being said about the events of 2009, a lot of people don’t know there were multiple storms that caused local fatalities in March of 1913.

The following is the account from the Nashville Banner, March 21, 1913:

Three Lives Reported Lost in Murfreesboro Catastrophe
Tennessee, swept a week ago by a storm, which wrought untold damage to property and exacted a toll of 20 lives, was again visited at an early hour this morning by the hurricane.

Concentrating its fury on the historic little City of Murfreesboro, where a half a million dollars [nearly $15 million in today’s dollars] of damage was done.

From Murfreesboro the storm traveled north of east, striking the towns of Alexandria and Liberty in DeKalb County and possibly others. South of Murfreesboro almost the same section of Maury County was visited; Marshall County was visited. Marshall County was a severe sufferer, three lives being lost. . . .

The tornado, which struck Murfreesboro this morning about 2 o’clock, it is now roughly estimated, inflicted a property damage of nearly $500,000 and caused three deaths so far as reported, but it is believed that death list will be increased when full information is secured.

The storm, which raged with savage intensity, came from a southwesterly direction and entered the town between the passenger and freight deports and passed diagonally through the city in a northeasterly direction. The Public Square was wrecked with the exception of the south side. . . .

“Every building on the north side of the Square,” [Mr. Crockett] said, “was damaged, and five of them were razed to the ground. These buildings were brick and concrete and among the best in the town.

“I was awakened by the roar of the wind and the thunder and from my room I could see that a terrific storm was in progress. Before daylight the entire town was aroused and moving about the wrecked section of the city. It was at first thought that many lives had been lost, but so far as I could learn this morning, only one man was hurt, but his injuries was considered fatal. . . . The Presbyterian Church, a brick structure, was blown down and practically ruined, only a part of two walls were left standing. Added to the wind damage was a fire that broke out out the wholesale grocery house of King, Ragland & Co., which completely destroyed it with a loss of about $40,000. It is supposed that this was set afire by lightning.”

Mr. Crockett says he never wants to run up against another such night as long as he lives.

Among the heavier loser by the storm is the firm of Ransom Bros., who had something like $50,000 of wheat and flour in their warehouse. The roof was blown off and the heavy rain played havoc with their grain and flour. The walls of the building are practically ruined.

The appearance of the Public Square is the most desolate feature of the calamity. The battered walls and fallen timbers, the tangled telephone wires and posts, the mass of wreckage of every description that litters the Square, all combine to evidence the terrible power of the tornado and its ruthless sweep.

People Stupefied
People seem stupefied at the awful destruction, and the only consolation they find in discussing the horror is that it fortunately occurred at night. Had the storm passed through the square in the daytime it is probable that 500 to 1,000 people would have been killed outright.

Hundreds of men have already gone to work removing the debris from the streets so they can be used.

Street Blocked
Church Street from the Square north has been blocked with the wreckage. The Avent & Price building, which is owned by the estate of Judge H.E. Palmer, is laid out on the street a mass of mortar and bricks and broken timbers. The storehouse of Butler & Hooper . . . is a total loss.

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Folks, with this history of destruction in our section of Middle Tennessee, we all need to take heed when there are tornado warnings announced. Peak tornado season in Tennessee runs March through May each year. However, there’s a secondary season in the fall that brings a high number of tornadoes during November. Tornadoes are ripe to form when warm, moist air collides with colder air above.

The Tornado Alley, which is the region where tornadoes are most likely to happen, moved over the last 20 years to include the Middle Tennessee area. I don’t know which is worse: tornadoes or hurricanes. That is up for debate. Myself, I don’t care for either, nor earthquakes, for that matter. We will discuss earthquakes and how they have played a role in Tennessee history at a later date.

May you all be safe and sound until we chat again. God bless!

Sources:
Rutherford County EMA
Rutherford County Historical Society
Nashville Banner