SPC Stats

Path length: 16 miles

Width:  200 yards

Fatalities:  3

Injuries:  25

Rating:  F3

County:  Shelby, Fayette

Eighteen tornadoes were confirmed across parts of the South on November 27, 1994. We look at one of the F3 tornadoes in this summary. It hit parts of Shelby and Fayette Counties in Tennessee and caused tremendous damage to the Germantown area.  

Per the Storm Data entry, the tornado began just southwest of Germantown and moved northeast. It crossed through the town, through the eastern part of Shelby County and into NW Fayette County. When we delved into the damage points and began to map those, we noticed this is not correct. It began southeast of town and clipped mainly the eastern side of town. We have reflected that on our map.

Overall, 28 homes were destroyed and 300 were damaged. Houston High School and a church had significant damage. Thirty utility poles and several trees were blown down.  Two mobile homes in Fayette County were destroyed.

Sadly, in the Germantown area, there were 3 fatalities. The Person family had just moved into their home in the Dogwood Grove Subdivision. They were holding a house-warming and family reunion. Storm Data documented 16 people in the home at the time the tornado hit. Local newspapers reported 11 in the home. I gathered most of my information about this tragedy from the December 1, 1994 edition of the Germantown News. Here are clips about what happened.

Tornado Path

SPC coordinates:  Start: 35.07 / -89.83    End: 35.32 / -89.65

Corrected coordinates based on damage reports:

Start:  35.061887/-89.774877    End: 35.236706/-89.586849

Note:  Exact tornado path may not be straight and/or continuous.

Videos

Photos via Facebook Embed

Sample of damage photos from the Houston High School Alumni Facebook page.  Full set of photos here

Newspaper Clippings

Sources:

The Storm Prediction Center

NCDC Storm Events Database

November 1994 Storm Data Publication

newspapers.com

Grazulis, Thomas P. (1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VT: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. Page 1371.

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Note:  There are some images/videos in our summaries that were licensed to us to be used only on this website. If you would like to use an image/video in your project or blog, please contact us and we will grant permission if possible.

Newspaper clips are embedded via newspapers.com. Please see their terms and conditions.

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