1998 Gainesville–Stoneville tornado outbreak

Touching down at around 6:25 AM EST in northwestern Hall County, this powerful pre-dawn F3 tornado traveled into southern White County, leaving a 13-mile long damage path through rural areas outside of Gainesville, Georgia, before dissipating at around 6:40 EST. It heavily damaged Lanier Elementary School and unroofed North Hall High School, while damaging or destroying several businesses. The school system did not fully recover until the next fall. At North Hall, the gymnasium was used as a temporary classroom until the end of the school year, while students at Lanier were temporarily relocated in three other area schools that were not affected by the tornado.[6] About 40 homes were completely destroyed and another 130 were damaged to varying degrees. 45 mobile homes were also damaged or destroyed, with 11 of the fatalities who were inside those structures. The other fatality occurred when a tractor-trailer was carried by the funnel and slammed into a school bus, killing the driver. Eight chicken houses were also destroyed and about 100,000 chickens were killed. 40 cattle were also killed by the storm.[6][7] In addition to the 12 fatalities, over 150 people were injured. A police officer was also killed after being hit by a car while assisting a motorist who was involved in an accident during the storm. The fatality was not directly attributed to the tornado itself.[6] Since recordkeeping began, this storm stands as the second deadliest Georgia tornado since 1950 and the deadliest since an F4 killed 18 on April 30, 1953, south of Macon.[8] The damage figures were estimated at between $15 million and $20 million with the majority of the damage in Hall County.[9]

The immediate Gainesville area is no stranger to deadly tornadoes. It was the site of the fifth deadliest tornado in United States history on April 6, 1936, during the Tupelo-Gainesville tornado outbreak, where two tornadoes merged into a very large F4 killing 203 including 70 at the Cooper Pants Factory. The tornado occurred only 12 hours after an F5 struck Tupelo, Mississippi, killing at least 216 (with others being unaccounted for), making it the fourth deadliest tornado on record including storms before 1950. Another tornado hit Gainesville in 1903 killing at least 100.[6]

The 1998 season, an El Niño year, had several deadly tornado outbreaks in addition to the Gainesville tornado including the Kissimmee Tornado Outbreak in Florida on February 23, the Birmingham, Alabama tornado on April 8, the Mississippi and Tennessee Valley outbreak on April 16 and the Spencer, South Dakota/Eastern tornado outbreak and derecho on May 30–31.

Stoneville, North Carolina

F3 tornado
The F3 Stoneville, North Carolina, tornado crossing US Highway 220, and entering the town of Stoneville from the southwest (NWS Blacksburg photo).
Max. rating1	F3 tornado
Fatalities	2 fatalities, 27 injuries
Damage	$34 million (1998 USD)[10]
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

At about 3:25 PM an F3 tornado developed about one mile southwest of Mayodan in Rockingham County, North Carolina,[9] touching down in an open field near the Western Rockingham Middle School. The tornado then almost immediately struck Unifi Plant No. 5, a textile manufacturing complex, tearing the roof and wall off of one of its buildings. The tornado proceeded to destroy several homes, cause extensive damage to the West Side Baptist Church, and strike an apartment complex and an abandoned elementary school. Over 190 residences in Mayodan were damaged by the storm.[11]

The tornado proceeded past Mayodan, crossing the Mayo River and traveling several miles across forests and farmland.[11] Between Mayodan and U.S. Route 220 it struck the home of farmer Powell Hickman, throwing him from his residence and killing him.[11][9] At about 3:30 the tornado entered the town of Stoneville, North Carolina, traveling north along a rail line into the main business district along Henry Street. It caused extensive damage to commercial structures.[11] Beth Mitchell, a national champion shag dancer, died when her car was thrown into a repair garage.[12] At 3:49 the tornado, after traveling 12 miles, dissipated about three miles northwest of the town of Eden.[9]

A total of 500 to 600 residences were affected by the tornado, along with numerous businesses; while several vehicles (including a fire truck) were also tossed some distance. Canceled checks from Stoneville were found 53 miles away in Huddleston, Virginia, while other debris was found scattered in and around the Martinsville area. Total casualties amounted to two dead and 27 injured.[9] The tornado was the strongest on-record to have ever struck Rockingham County.[13]