How Many Died?
The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) and the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) list 20 fatalities for the Ringgold tornado. The April 2011 Storm Data Publication (SDP), has 21. The NCDC/NWS Morristown Tornado Database has four of those in Bradley County, TN. Another four in the county were attributed to an EF2 earlier that day, and a ninth to an EF1. The SDP gives five in Bradley County to the EF4, one to the EF1, and three to the EF2.
We were able to find the locations of the individuals who perished in Bradley County, and also referenced local newspaper reports on the fatalities. What we found was that eight of the nine fatalities in Bradley County that day were located within the direct core of the Ringgold tornado. This included the one death attributed to the EF1 and three of those listed for the EF2. Thus, we came up with a total of 24 fatalities for this tornado.
How Many Were Injured?
The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) and the April 2011 Storm Data Publication (SDP) list only 30 injuries in Catoosa County, GA. According to Angel Emergency Medical Services, there were 362 Catoosa County injuries that were treated. This seems considerably more realistic of a number both in relation to other county injury figures, the number of structures destroyed, and eyewitness accounts from the area. This would bring the total number of injuries up to 677.
Path Length
The SPC and NCDC list a path length of 48 miles. The SDP has a path length of 49.3 miles, but there is no entry listed for McMinn County, TN. Extremely detailed analysis of the damage indicates that the tornado actually began in Walker County, GA and not Catoosa County, GA. The end point is also pushed slightly further northeast than the official coordinates. This gives a corrected path length of 54.88 miles.
Maximum Width
The SPC/NCDC/SDP/NWS Morristown Tornado Database list a maximum width of 800 yards (0.45 miles). Analysis of the damage indicates a maximum width of 1,400 yards (0.80 miles).
0 Comments