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NWS storm survey says 4 tornadoes, straight line winds blasted through TN, AR, MS

Wynne School Superintendent Kenneth Moore, left, leads Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders through the Wynne High School that was hit by Friday's tornado, Sunday, April 2, 2023, in Wynne, Ark. (Thomas Metthe/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — At least four tornadoes ripped across the Mid-South on Friday, according to a preliminary survey from the National Weather Service.

Seventeen people were left dead across the region, including three who were killed in Memphis by damage blamed on straight-line winds.


Three of those tornadoes were Category EF-3 tornadoes, with wind speeds between 136 and 165 mph. Those twisters touched down in Wynne, Arkansas; Covington, Tennessee and Adamsville, Tennessee.

Another EF-1 tornado with wind speeds up to 100 mph struck near Eudora, Mississippi, NWS-Memphis said Monday.

Four people were dead in Wynne; 1 dead in Covington, with 28 injured; nine were killed in Adamsville, part of McNairy County.

Three people, including two children, died in Shelby County. Straight-line winds are blamed for serious damage that downed trees and infrastructure in East Memphis.

In Memphis, city officials reported 42 residential structures damaged, one apartment complex damaged, one commercial building damaged and 47 reports of trees down.