April 11th, 2023 Memphis drillbit tornado

Memphis DrillbitAt 4:11 pm CDT, a small tornado touched down 1.14 miles southwest of Lehi, TN, DOWS reported winds of 113 mph as it crossed US-70, this is when the first reports of vehicle damage came in, described as, "Some cars tossed into ditch with cars pushed on their side." It hit some mobile homes as it moved along Lehi. The reports stated that some were pushed over or completely destroyed. As it crossed US-79 it started to turn more easterly. This is when constant reports came in of severe tree damage, (e,g. Uprooted, slight debarking) And vehicle damage.

As it neared West Memphis Municipal Airport, people started to report even more as it neared. It clipped the northern part of the northern part of the airport as the DOW sent in reports of winds exceeding 136 mph. The airport damage ranged from Airplanes being pushed, to the roof of the airport being lifted off. Hail of 2 inch diameter and heavy rain was reported ahead of the storm. This is when the tornado became dangerous. As it entered West Memphis it hit the Arkansas State University Mid-South causing severe damage. Glass was scattered along the building. An exterior wall was ripped off and the roof was found 120 ft from its original location. This wasn't the worst of the West Memphis damage. The DOW recorded winds of 210 mph. It hit rural homes next to the University. Damage ranged from walls missing to complete leveling of houses. the tornado then took on a rope/cone shape as it entered memphis. It then took a huge forward speed leap up to 102 mph for around 5 seconds. This alerted authorities. And a VTW was issued. Sirens blared in downtown Memphis. As the tornado entered more civilians entered the streets pulling out their phones to record. This resulted in 9 fatalities and 20 injuries with 14 being severe. The tornado moved into downtown Memphis with winds of 316 mph. Multiple brick homes that were well bolted to their foundation were ripped out with ease. 1 report stated one foundation was dislodged and misplaced. The tornado left Memphis with winds of up to 321 mph and a sustained width of 160 ft. Some reports as it left Memphis stated that foundations were scoured, scouring was down to 5 yards. And apartment complexes were blown away like tissue paper.

Aftermath
It took around 35 years to rebuild Memphis. Lehi could not be rebuilt for a good 2 months due to debris blocking roadways. This tornado resulted in 12 casualties, and 39 injuries. 23 of those severe. This tornado left 40,214 people homeless.