Tornado outbreak of April 22–25, 2010

April 2010 tornado outbreak

Tornadoes confirmed	33+ confirmed, 115 reported
Max. rating1	EF4 tornado
Fatalities	10
Areas affected	Midwest, U.S. South
1Most severe tornado damage; see Enhanced Fujita scale

The April 2010 tornado outbreak was a tornado outbreak across a large portion of the Southern United States, originally starting in the High Plains on April 22, 2010. The outbreak was responsible for ten fatalities on April 24, all in Mississippi.

Meteorological synopsis

A complex weather system began to track across the central and southern United States beginning on April 22. Scattered thunderstorms initially developed across the central and eastern Great Plains region late during the afternoon and then moved into the southeast Texas Panhandle and the Osage Plains during the evening and overnight hours. Large hail occurred with the stronger storms, but the most severe storms produced damaging winds and tornadoes. By late evening, new activity developed into a line of storms which swept through the Osage Plains. There were 40 tornadoes that were reported that day, however, virtually all of them were in open country and damage was minimal with no injuries.

On April 23, an upper level storm system increased in strength as it moved from the southern Rockies to the southern Great Plains region. A cold front moved across east-central Texas, eastern Oklahoma, and the Missouri River Valley through the night. Moist air ahead of the cold front in the south central states allowed for strong to severe thunderstorms to develop across the Mississippi Valley. A moderate risk of severe weather was issued across much of the southern United States. Despite the likelihood mentioned for a significant tornado outbreak that day, only 8 tornadoes were reported; most of them north of St. Louis, Missouri outside the moderate risk area.

On April 24, an energetic upper level storm system strengthened as it moved from Texas to the southern Great Lakes Region. A cold front moved eastward across the middle and lower Mississippi River Valley before heading into the Ohio River Valley and stretched into the Mid-South portion of the United States. In front of the cold front, a warm proliferating moist and unsteady air mass spreaded northward from the lower Mississippi River Valley and northern Gulf Coast States into the middle Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys. There were already thunderstorms that had formed during the morning hours and the conditions would only become more numerous throughout the day. This set the stage for a significant severe weather outbreak with the potential for strong and violent tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds. As a result, the Storm Prediction Center issued a rare high risk of severe weather for portions of Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Four "particularly dangerous situation" tornado watches were issued that day for areas of Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama. Numerous tornado warnings citing "large and extremely dangerous" tornadoes were issued. There have been 54 tornadoes reported. The outbreak of severe weather caused NASCAR to call off the Aaron's 312 race in Talladega, Alabama.

In the late evening, more tornadoes developed in central Alabama, and a tornado emergency was again declared for areas northwest of Birmingham, Alabama.

Dr. Greg Forbes of the Weather Channel has said that radar was picking up debris on a thunderstorm near Yazoo City, indicating severe damage. He said he has not seen anything like that since a tornado hit Greensburg, Kansas.

Tallulah-Yazoo City-Durant tornado

By far the longest-lived and the most intense tornado of the outbreak developed from a supercell near Tallulah, Louisiana at about 11:15 am CDT (1615 UTC) April 24. It tracked across the Mississippi River and crossed into Mississippi, producing a long swath of damage through Issaquena, Warren, Yazoo, Holmes, Attala and Choctaw Counties, and possibly even farther northeast.

A tornado emergency was issued for central Mississippi for a tornado that reportedly flattened many homes near Eagle Bend in Warren County, leveled numerous buildings, injured numerous people and destroyed a church with Yazoo City taking a direct hit from the tornado, which was at times up to 1.75 miles (2.8 km) in width. Storm chasers from the Weather Channel state that "the east side (of Yazoo City) is completely gone." Significant damage to an industrial plant with injuries, trapped persons and destroyed homes have been reported in Madison Parish, Louisiana near the Louisiana-Mississippi state line. It remains uncertain if it was multiple tornadoes or a single tornado that touched down, but it is possible it was a single tornado that tracked at least 97 miles (156 km) if not farther, although further determination is to be done. The tornado was rated as an EF4.

10 people were killed by this tornado - four in Yazoo County, one in Holmes County and five in Choctaw County.

Tornadoes

Confirmed tornadoes by Enhanced Fujita rating

EFU	EF0	EF1	EF2	EF3	EF4	EF5	Total
0	18	9	4	1	1	0	33

April 22 event

List of reported tornadoes - Thursday, April 22, 2010
EF#	Location	County	Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Comments/Damage
Colorado
EF0	SE of Las Animas	Bent	38.05°N 103.20°W / 38.05; -103.20 (Las Animas (Apr. 22, EF0))	1908	unknown	Tornado remained in open country with no damage. Possibly one or multiple tornadoes.
EF0	NNW of Hasty	Bent	38.21°N 102.99°W / 38.21; -102.99 (Hasty (Apr. 22, EF0))	1948	unknown
EF1	W of Sweetwater Reservoir	Kiowa	38.36°N 102.88°W / 38.36; -102.88 (Sweetwater Reservoir (Apr. 22, EF1))	2032	unknown	A barn and empty livestock tank were destroyed.
EF0	W of Eads	Kiowa	38.44°N 102.85°W / 38.44; -102.85 (Eads (Apr. 22, EF0))	2047	unknown
EF?	SW of Deer Trail	Elbert	39.52°N 104.16°W / 39.52; -104.16 (Deer Trail (Apr. 22, EF?))	2128
EF?	W of Leader	Adams	39.90°N 104.08°W / 39.90; -104.08 (Leader (Apr. 22, EF?))	2138
EF?	NE of Kit Carson	Cheyenne	38.81°N 102.73°W / 38.81; -102.73 (Kit Carson (Apr. 22, EF?))	2224		Public report of a tornado on the ground.
EF?	SW of Kit Carson	Cheyenne	38.74°N 102.82°W / 38.74; -102.82 (Kit Carson (Apr. 22, EF?))	2240
EF?	W of Kit Carson	Cheyenne	38.76°N 102.83°W / 38.76; -102.83 (Kit Carson (Apr. 22, EF?))	2253
EF?	WNW of Firstview	Cheyenne	38.86°N 102.68°W / 38.86; -102.68 (Firstview (Apr. 22, EF?))	2309		Tornado was rain-wrapped.
EF?	N of Firstview	Cheyenne	39.00°N 102.54°W / 39.00; -102.54 (Firstview (Apr. 22, EF?))	2352
EF?	NNE of Firstview	Cheyenne	39.02°N 102.46°W / 39.02; -102.46 (Firstview (Apr. 22, EF?))	0005
Kansas
EF2	SE of Kendall	Kearny	37.91°N 101.42°W / 37.91; -101.42 (Kendall (Apr. 22, EF2))	2140	unknown	Large wedge tornado reported to be 1 mile (1.6 km) wide. Damage limited to trees which were debarked.
EF?	SW of Lakin	Kearny	37.92°N 101.28°W / 37.92; -101.28 (Lakin (Apr. 22, EF?))	2210
EF?	NW of Deerfield (1st tornado)	Kearny	38.04°N 101.21°W / 38.04; -101.21 (Deerfield (Apr. 22, EF?))	2239
EF1	W of Friend	Finney, Scott	38.22°N 101.09°W / 38.22; -101.09 (Friend (Apr. 22, EF1))	2311	unknown	Large wedge tornado tracked across open country with damage to power poles.
EF?	NW of Deerfield (2nd tornado)	Kearny	38.14°N 101.28°W / 38.14; -101.28 (Deerfield (Apr. 22, EF?))	2344		Stovepipe-shaped tornado.
EF0	S of Scott City	Scott	38.42°N 100.91°W / 38.42; -100.91 (Scott City (Apr. 22, EF0))	0010	unknown	Two grain bins were destroyed and several others were damaged. A barn was also heavily damaged. Trees and powerlines were knocked down.
EF?	SE of Gove	Gove	38.82°N 100.33°W / 38.82; -100.33 (Gove (Apr. 22, EF?))	0221		Brief tornado reported by a local sheriff.
Texas
EF0	NE of Goodnight	Armstrong	35.09°N 101.12°W / 35.09; -101.12 (Goodnight (Apr. 22, EF0))	2159	2 miles (3.2 km)	Tornado remained in open country with no damage.
EF0	SE of Groom	Donley	35.16°N 100.98°W / 35.16; -100.98 (Groom (Apr. 22, EF0))	2210	8 miles (13 km)	Tornado remained in open country with no damage.
EF1	Goodnight area	Armstrong	35.07°N 101.15°W / 35.07; -101.15 (Goodnight (Apr. 22, EF1))	2220	11 miles (18 km)	Damage limited to two broken power poles as the tornado remained primarily in open country.
EF0	E of Lake McClellan	Gray	35.22°N 100.85°W / 35.22; -100.85 (Lake McClellan (Apr. 22, EF0))	2238	0.5 miles (800 m)	Brief tornado remained in open country with no damage.
EF0	ESE of Groom	Donley	35.16°N 100.98°W / 35.16; -100.98 (Groom (Apr. 22, EF0))	2307	0.5 miles (800 m)	Brief tornado remained in open country with no damage.
EF0	NE of Lake McClellan	Gray	35.26°N 100.80°W / 35.26; -100.80 (Lake McClellan (Apr. 22, EF0))	2330	8 miles (13 km)	Intermittent large tornado remained in open country.
EF0	NE of Lefors	Gray	35.51°N 100.59°W / 35.51; -100.59 (Lefors (Apr. 22, EF0))	2340	5 miles (8.0 km)	Tornado remained in open country with no damage.
EF?	SW of Cee Vee	Motley	34.15°N 100.54°W / 34.15; -100.54 (Cee Vee (Apr. 22, EF?))	0038		Many reports of a large rain wrapped tornado.
EF?	SE of Cee Vee	Cottle	34.18°N 100.41°W / 34.18; -100.41 (Cee Vee (Apr. 22, EF?))	0133		Large wedge tornado on the ground.
EF?	NW of Swearingen	Cottle	34.15°N 100.25°W / 34.15; -100.25 (Swearingen (Apr. 22, EF?))	0205		Possibly one or multiple tornadoes.
Oklahoma
EF0	S of Bryans Corner	Beaver	35.09°N 101.12°W / 35.09; -101.12 (Goodnight (Apr. 22, EF0))	2251	0.25 miles (400 m)	Brief tornado remained in open country with no damage.
Sources: SPC Storm Reports of 04/22/10, NWS Amarillo, NWS Dodge City, NWS Pueblo

April 23 event

List of reported tornadoes - Friday, April 23, 2010
EF#	Location	County	Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Comments/Damage
Colorado
EF?	NE of Genoa	Lincoln	39.34°N 103.42°W / 39.34; -103.42 (Genoa (Apr. 23, EF?))	1717
Mississippi
EF?	Swiftown	Leflore	33.31°N 90.43°W / 33.31; -90.43 (Swiftown (Apr. 23, EF?))	2055		Brief tornado touchdown with no damage.
Arkansas
EF?	W of Cash	Craighead	35.80°N 90.95°W / 35.80; -90.95 (Cash (Apr. 23, EF?))	2322
Missouri
EF?	NW of Warrenton	Warren	38.86°N 91.19°W / 38.86; -91.19 (Warrenton (Apr. 23, EF?))	2340		Brief tornado touchdown.
EF?	NNW of Warrenton	Warren, Lincoln	38.91°N 91.19°W / 38.91; -91.19 (Warrenton (Apr. 23, EF?))	0025		Tornado spotted by law enforcement.
EF?	SW of Silex	Lincoln	39.10°N 91.10°W / 39.10; -91.10 (Silex (Apr. 23, EF?))	0048		Tornado reported by a trained spotter and relayed by WGEM.
EF?	NE of Silex	Lincoln	39.18°N 90.99°W / 39.18; -90.99 (Silex (Apr. 23, EF?))	0114		Rope tornado reported along U.S. Route 61.
Texas
EF0	Queen City area	Cass, Miller (AR)		0041	18 miles (29 km)	Long-track tornado primarily damaged trees, a few of which landed on vehicles or houses with minor damage.
Sources: SPC Storm Reports of 04/23/10, NWS Shreveport

April 24 event

List of reported tornadoes - Saturday, April 24, 2010
EF#	Location	County/ Parish	Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Comments/Damage
Texas
EF1	Mabank	Kaufman	32.37°N 96.10°W / 32.37; -96.10 (Mabank (Apr. 24, EF1))	0645	0.25 miles (400 m)	Brief tornado damaged one house.
EF0	NNW of Mineola	Wood		0733	0.75 miles (1.21 km)	Several large trees were uprooted.
EF0	E of Winnsboro	Wood		0746	2 miles (3.2 km)	Tornado touched down along Highway 11 destroying a metal hay barn.
Mississippi
EF?	NE of Rose Hill	Jasper	32.22°N 88.97°W / 32.22; -88.97 (Rose Hill (Apr. 24, EF?))	1434		Many trees down with crews having to cut their way through.
EF2	Meridian area	Lauderdale	32.34°N 88.73°W / 32.34; -88.73 (Meridian (Apr. 24, EF2))	1450	5 miles (8.0 km)	Tornado reported according to ABC 33/40 coverage with major structural damage to numerous houses and a church. Extensive tree damage reported in the area.
EF?	Thaxton area	Pontotoc	34.31°N 89.17°W / 34.31; -89.17 (Thaxton (Apr. 24, EF?))	1602		Tornado confirmed by law enforcement.
EF0	New Albany	Union	34.49°N 89.02°W / 34.49; -89.02 (New Albany (Apr. 24, EF0))	1620	100 yards (90 m)	Minor roof damage to one house and numerous trees damaged.
EF?	Baldwyn	Lee	34.50°N 88.63°W / 34.50; -88.63 (Baldwyn (Apr. 24, EF?))	1750		Tornado reported by the public near U.S. Route 45.
EF?	N of Starkville	Oktibbeha	33.53°N 88.82°W / 33.53; -88.82 (Starkville (Apr. 24, EF?))	1906		A trailer home was overturned and trees and power lines were knocked down.
EF?	NE of West Point	Clay	33.64°N 88.55°W / 33.64; -88.55 (West Point (Apr. 24, EF?))	1928		Power lines were knocked down.
EF?	SE of Damascus	Kemper	32.59°N 88.80°W / 32.59; -88.80 (Damascus (Apr. 24, EF?))	0032		Tornado confirmed by a storm spotter.
EF1	New Hamilton	Monroe	33.75°N 88.45°W / 33.75; -88.45 (New Hamilton (Apr. 24, EF1))	unknown	7 miles (11 km)
Alabama
EF?	Ward	Sumter	32.36°N 88.28°W / 32.36; -88.28 (Ward (Apr. 24, EF?))	1544		Tree damage from a tornado confirmed by the local fire department.
EF0	S of Gu-win	Marion	33.95°N 87.85°W / 33.95; -87.85 (Gu-win (Apr. 24, EF0))	2127	7.22 miles (11.62 km)	Tornado made intermittent contact with the ground. Three houses sustained minor damage and two outbuildings were destroyed, along with many trees.
EF2	NW of Walter	Cullman	34.15°N 86.71°W / 34.15; -86.71 (Walter (Apr. 24, EF2))	0013	6 miles (9.7 km)	Two chicken houses, a barn and a carport were destroyed and several houses and businesses sustained minor damage. Extensive tree damage along the path.
EF1	NE of Brooksville	Blount, Marshall	34.19°N 86.19°W / 34.19; -86.19 (Brooksville (Apr. 24, EF2))	0259	2.18 miles (3.51 km)	A house lost part of its roof, a barn was destroyed and a mobile home rolled off its foundation. Several hundred trees were damaged.
EF3	Parrish area	Walker, Jefferson, Blount	33.75°N 87.05°W / 33.75; -87.05 (Parrish (Apr. 24, EF3))	0304	29.5 miles (47.5 km)	Long track tornado with extensive damage. Over 70 houses and businesses were damaged, of which one was destroyed. Hundreds of trees were also uprooted or snapped. One indirect fatality was reported from an incident after the tornado hit.
EF?	Albertville area	Marshall	34.26°N 86.21°W / 34.26; -86.21 (Albertville (Apr. 24, EF?))	0325		The downtown area was hard hit, and many buildings sustained structural damage.
EF?	Geraldine	DeKalb	34.36°N 86.00°W / 34.36; -86.00 (Geraldine (Apr. 24, EF?))	0345		Large and extremely dangerous tornado with major damage.
Louisiana
EF4	Tallulah to E of Durant, MS	Madison, Issaquena (MS), Warren (MS), Yazoo (MS), Holmes (MS), Attala (MS), Choctaw (MS)	32.71°N 90.54°W / 32.71; -90.54 (Yazoo City (Apr. 24, EF4))	1614	unknown	10 deaths - See section on this tornado
Missouri
EF?	NW of Marysville	Nodaway	40.36°N 94.90°W / 40.36; -94.90 (Marysville (Apr. 24, EF?))	1737		A few tree limbs were knocked down.
EF0	S of Table Rock	Taney	36.59°N 93.30°W / 36.59; -93.30 (Table Rock (Apr. 24, EF0))	1840	0.5 miles (800 m)	Several trees were twisted at Table Rock State Park and a marina was damaged.
EF?	Des Peres	St. Louis	38.60°N 90.45°W / 38.60; -90.45 (Des Peres (Apr. 24, EF?))	2120		Trees and 14 inch limbs downed by tornado.
Arkansas
EF?	S of Manila	Mississippi	35.85°N 90.22°W / 35.85; -90.22 (Manila (Apr. 24, EF?))	1905		Tornado sighted on Big Lake with minor damage.
Kentucky
EF?	Pembroke	Christian	36.77°N 87.36°W / 36.77; -87.36 (Pembroke (Apr. 24, EF?))	2126		Unconfirmed tornado report.
EF1	E of Sunfish	Edmonson		2133	1.1 miles (1.8 km)	One house sustained significant damage and a shed was destroyed. Several outbuildings were also damaged.
Tennessee
EF1	N of Parsons	Decatur	35.70°N 88.12°W / 35.70; -88.12 (Parsons (Apr. 24, EF1))	2133	11 miles (18 km)	Several houses were damaged by the tornado and many trees were knocked down.
EF1	SW of Waverly	Humphreys	35.94°N 87.98°W / 35.94; -87.98 (Waverly (Apr. 24, EF1))	2202	13.8 miles (22.2 km)	Several houses sustained roof damage, and hundreds of trees were damaged.
EF0	E of Westmoreland	Macon	36.54°N 86.19°W / 36.54; -86.19 (Westmoreland (Apr. 24, EF0))	0059	1.5 miles (2.4 km)	A small barn was destroyed and numerous trees were damaged.
EF2	SE of Greenback	Blount	35.62°N 84.14°W / 35.62; -84.14 (Greenback (Apr. 25, EF2))	0604	0.5 miles (800 m)	Several homes damaged. May have affected Monroe and Loudon Counties.
Sources: SPC Storm Reports of 04/24/10, NWS Jackson, NWS Dallas/Fort Worth, NWS Springfield, NWS Huntsville, NWS Memphis, NWS Birmingham, NWS Jackson (PNS), NWS Morristown, NWS Nashville, NWS Louisville

April 25 event

List of reported tornadoes - Sunday, April 25, 2010
EF#	Location	County	Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Comments/Damage
South Carolina
EF?	Darlington area	Darlington	34.25°N 79.99°W / 34.25; -79.99 (Darlington (Apr. 25, EF?))	2340		Damage to a bank, a school, several houses and numerous mobile homes. Reports of possible injuries in the area.
North Carolina
EF?	SW of Pilot	Wake	35.83°N 78.32°W / 35.83; -78.32 (Pilot (Apr. 25, EF?))	0005		Trees reported to be down.
EF?	SE of Bunn (Bunn is in Franklin County, not Nash)	Nash	35.91°N 78.19°W / 35.91; -78.19 (Bunn (Apr. 25, EF?))	0015		A storage shed was blown over.
Sources: SPC Storm Reports of 04/25/10

External links

• Satellite images from the 24 April 2010 tornado outbreak (CIMSS Satellite Blog)