Tornado outbreak of April 30 – May 2, 2010

The April–May 2010 tornado outbreak is a multi-day tornado outbreak across a large portion of the Southern United States occurring at the end of April and the beginning of May 2010. Five people were killed from the tornadoes - one in Arkansas, one in Tennessee and three in Mississippi.[1][2]

April–May 2010 tornado outbreak

Type	Tornado outbreak
Duration	April 30-May 2, 2010
Tornadoes confirmed	60 confirmed
Max. rating^1	EF3 tornado
Duration of tornado outbreak^2	~48 hours
Casualties	5 + 31 non-tornadic
^1Most severe tornado damage; see Enhanced Fujita scale ^2Time from first tornado to last tornado

Meteorological synopsis

A strong low-pressure system tracked across the Midwest beginning on April 29. A few tornadoes were reported from Kansas to Iowa that day, but with little damage.

A moderate risk of severe weather was issued on April 30 for a large swath from northern Illinois to southern Arkansas. Late that afternoon, tornadoes began to develop across the Ozarks and multiple tornado warnings were issued. also, in less than a week, another PDS Tornado Watch was issued for Arkansas, Oklahoma, the Missouri Bootheel, and Texas. That evening in central Arkansas, the moderate risk was upgraded to a high risk for the second time in less than a week. Significant damage was reported in several areas.[3] KARK coverage reported that a tornado touched down in Scotland, Arkansas and major damage, at least 25 injuries and 3 fatalities were reported there.[4][5][6] In East End, Arkansas, major damage was also reported with several injuries.

Another high risk was issued for May 1 for Arkansas, northern Mississippi, West Tennessee, southwestern Kentucky and southeastern Missouri, the first occurrence of back-to-back high risk days since 2006. Activity began in the afternoon on the warm front, where a destructive tornado touched down in northeastern Mississippi with severe damage near Ripley.[7] Yet again, another PDS Tornado watch was issued for Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. The activity, however, was confirmed primarily to areas closer to the Mississippi River.

The same system also produced copious amounts of rain over much of the Mid-South, with widespread flooding reported in Tennessee. Interstates 40 and 24 had to be shut down in the Nashville area due to water covering those major highways. The flooding was so bad on those two Interstate highways, stranded motorists were rescued in boats.[8]

Flooding

Flooding from thunderstorms in the areas affected was also common, with some places experiencing record flooding. At least 13 inches (0.33 m) of rain fell in Nashville, Tennessee, breaking the old two-day total record of 6.68 inches (17.0 cm) set in 1979 by the remnants of Hurricane Frederic.[9]

Tornadoes

Confirmed tornadoes by Enhanced Fujita rating

EFU	EF0	EF1	EF2	EF3	EF4	EF5	Total
0	21	23	13	3	0	0	60

April 30 event

List of reported tornadoes - Friday, April 30, 2010
EF#	Location	County	Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Comments/Damage
Arkansas
EF1	SE of Pontiac	Marion, Ozark (MO)	36.49°N 92.58°W	2249	16 miles (26 km)	Tornado developed along Bull Shoals Lake. Long track of mostly tree damage.
EF3	Scotland area	Conway, Van Buren	35.50°N 92.52°W	2356	20.3 miles (32.7 km)	1 death - Severe damage in the area with at least 13 houses or mobile homes destroyed and about 20 others damaged. The community center in Scotland was also destroyed. Thousands of trees were also snapped or uprooted. At least 15 others were injured.
EF1	W of Belfast	Grant	34.38°N 92.49°W	0046	2.8 miles (4.5 km)	A house and a church were damaged and a barn lost part of its roof.
EF1	Fox area	Van Buren, Stone	35.78°N 92.30°W	0048	8.7 miles (14.0 km)	Several mobile homes and sheds were destroyed. Extensive tree damage along the path.
EF2	Center Ridge area	Conway, Van Buren	35.37°N 92.57°W	0055	11.7 miles (18.8 km)	12 houses and two mobile homes were destroyed, and at least 30 other houses were damaged, some heavily. Three churches were also damaged.
EF1	East End area	Saline, Grant	34.55°N 92.32°W	0059	17.8 miles (28.6 km)	Significant damage in the area with seven houses, a fire station and 17 mobile homes were destroyed. At least 130 other houses, a church and several businesses were damaged, some severely, Eight people were injured.
EF2	NE of Sweet Home	Pulaski, Lonoke, White	34.55°N 92.32°W	0135	35 miles (56 km)	Long track tornado with significant damage. Several buildings were damaged at the Little Rock River Port. At least 40 houses or mobile homes were destroyed and about 140 others were damaged. Extensive damage also to trees and power lines.
EF2	Dierks	Howard	34.12°N 94.02°W	0137	2 miles (3.2 km)	Numerous houses and businesses were damaged, including a laundromat and a storage building which were destroyed.
EF1	SE of Kensett	White	35.20°N 91.72°W	0255	2.4 miles (3.9 km)	Several houses lost their roofs and outbuildings were damaged.
EF0	SE of Dierks	Howard	34.05°N 93.93°W	0324	1 mile (1.6 km)	A barn and an outbuilding were damaged.
EF3	N of Weldon	Jackson	35.46°N 91.23°W	0340	7.5 miles (12.1 km)	A church and power substation were destroyed and several houses were damaged by the tornado.
EF1	N of Carthage	Dallas	34.07°N 92.56°W	0352	1.8 miles (2.9 km)	A mobile home was blown off its foundation and numerous trees were damaged.
Missouri
EF1	S of Hardensville	Ozark	36.57°N 92.37°W	2312	4 miles (6.4 km)	Numerous outbuildings and trees were damaged.
EF0	E of Hardensville	Ozark	36.59°N 92.35°W	2314	1 mile (1.6 km)	Minor damage limited to a few trees.
EF1	N of Tecumseh	Ozark	36.63°N 92.29°W	2324	11 miles (18 km)	Three houses sustained significant damage and about 30 others sustained minor damage by a large wedge tornado. Extensive damage to trees.
EF1	W of Cook Station	Crawford	37.81°N 91.46°W	2350	2 miles (3.2 km)	Damage to several trees.
EF1	S of Willow Springs	Howell	36.94°N 91.97°W	0005	3 miles (4.8 km)	Large wedge tornado heavily damaged several houses, a store and a water treatment plant. Many trees were also damaged.
EF1	NW of Fletcher to SW of Otto	Washington, Jefferson	38.28°N 90.63°W	0108	19 miles (31 km)	Tornado uprooted many trees and damaged several houses. A church was also heavily damaged.
EF0	SSW of Annapolis	Iron	37.31°N 90.73°W	0205	unknown	Several trees were knocked down by the brief tornado, damaging a shed.
Illinois
EF2	SW of Merrimac	Monroe	38.35°N 90.35°W	2050	7 miles (11 km)	Several houses were damaged. A large hangar at Jacobs Field was heavily damaged. Upgrade from EF1 to EF2 in later analysis.
EF0	NW of Waterloo	Monroe	38.33°N 90.23°W	2057	250 yards (230 m)	A few large trees and several large tree limbs were downed, damaging one house.
Michigan
EF0	NW of Iron River	Iron	46.10°N 88.68°W	2250	0.4 miles (640 m)	A few outbuildings were damaged, and many trees were knocked down in the path.
Wisconsin
EF1	SE of Berlin	Green Lake	43.92°N 88.92°W	0000	2.2 miles (3.5 km)	Minor damage to a house and a barn. Many trees, several power poles and an antenna were snapped.
EF1	W of Larson	Winnebago		0010	1 mile (1.6 km)	A barn was destroyed and a gazebo was thrown into a house. Numerous pine trees were snapped.
EF0	SW of Larson	Winnebago		0013	3.3 miles (5.3 km)	A house sustained roof damage and a shed was destroyed. A garage and a camper trailer were also damaged.
EF0	E of Glen Oak	Marquette, Green Lake	43.73°N 89.32°W	0015	3 miles (4.8 km)	Intermittent tornado touchdown damaged numerous trees.
EF0	NW of Marquette	Marquette, Green Lake	43.71°N 89.28°W	0015	7.5 miles (12.1 km)	Damage limited to a few trees.
Sources: SPC Storm Reports of 04/30/10, NWS Springfield, NWS Little Rock, NWS St. Louis, NWS Shreveport, NWS Green Bay, NWS Milwaukee

May 1 event

List of confirmed tornadoes – Saturday, May 1, 2010[note 1]

EF#	Location	County / Parish	State	Start Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Max width	Damage[note 2]	Summary	Refs
EF0	N of Hamlin	Calloway	KY	36.6314°N 88.1843°W	0802 – 0812	6.04 mi (9.72 km)	75 yd (69 m)	$20,000	Approximately 50 trees were snapped or uprooted.	[10]
EF1	SE of Cotton Plant to NNW of Dumas	Union, Tippah	MS	34.5775°N 88.9967°W	1834 – 1847	10.34 mi (16.64 km)	200 yd (180 m)	$135,000	The tornado touched down in Union County, inflicting minor damage to an outbuilding. In Tippah County, six homes sustained minor to moderate damage, a roof was peeled off a mobile home, a barn, a few vehicles, and a church were damaged, and many trees were felled.	[10]
EF0	NE of Loretto	Lawrence	TN	35.0963°N 87.4329°W	2123 – 2126	3.11 mi (5.01 km)	100 yd (91 m)	$11,000	A couple dozen trees were uprooted, a few trees were snapped, and a home suffered minor roof damage.	[10]
EF1	SE of Artesian	Calhoun, Bradley	AR	33.3128°N 92.3858°W	2341 – 2345	2.82 mi (4.54 km)	35 yd (32 m)	$30,000	The tornado began in Calhoun County before entering Bradley County. Trees and tree limbs were blown down on timber lands in both counties.	[10]
EF1	S of Herbine	Cleveland	AR	33.7686°N 92.0312°W	0027 – 0028	0.46 mi (0.74 km)	50 yd (46 m)	$25,000	Numerous trees were felled.	[10]
EF0	W of Bivins	Cass	TX	33.0118°N 94.2°W	0129 – 0131	0.91 mi (1.46 km)	150 yd (140 m)	$50,000	Many trees were uprooted, numerous tree limbs were downed, about seven homes sustained minor roof and siding damage, and a church sustained minor roof damage.	[10]
EF1	Primrose area	Woodruff, Cross	AR	35.1853°N 91.0762°W	0155 – 0205	8.66 mi (13.94 km)	200 yd (180 m)	$400,000	The tornado began in Woodruff County, removing a portion of a roof from a flying service hangar and causing a wall to cave in. Portions of two walls were removed from a home and its roof was partially removed. In Cross County, three homes sustained various degrees of damage, several outbuildings were damaged, and a two-story barn was completely collapsed. Trees, power poles, and power lines were snapped or felled in both counties.	[10]
EF1	E of Harrisburg	Poinsett	AR	35.5222°N 90.6177°W	0236 – 0240	6.21 mi (9.99 km)	400 yd (370 m)	$75,000	A tractor disc was moved, and several transmission lines, trees, and power poles were damaged. An office trailer was destroyed, a crop duster hangar and a home were damaged, and a barn was destroyed.	[10]
EF0	N of Prescott	Nevada	AR	33.859°N 93.388°W	0247 – 0248	1.68 mi (2.70 km)	75 yd (69 m)	$0	Several tree limbs were snapped, and a tree top was twisted off.	[10]
EF0	W of Caraway	Craighead	AR	35.7506°N 90.4266°W	0258 – 0259	0.03 mi (0.048 km)	25 yd (23 m)	$0	A tornado was photographed by an eyewitness.	[10]
EF0	WSW of Hendrickson	Butler	MO	36.874°N 90.579°W	0300 – 0301	0.47 mi (0.76 km)	175 yd (160 m)	$1,000	Several large trees were downed.	[10]
EF1	Millington	Shelby	TN	35.3228°N 89.9383°W	0347 – 0348	0.61 mi (0.98 km)	100 yd (91 m)	$10,000	Several trees and a couple of wooden poles were downed and twisted.	[10]

May 2 event

List of confirmed tornadoes – Sunday, May 2, 2010[note 1]

EF#	Location	County / Parish	State	Start Coord.	Time (UTC)	Path length	Max width	Damage[note 2]	Summary	Refs
EF2	NW of Jordan to SE of Clinton	Fulton, Hickman	KY	36.5222°N 89.0553°W	0605 – 0625	12.46 mi (20.05 km)	600 yd (550 m)	$335,000	In Fulton County, trees and limbs were downed, houses and outbuildings sustained minor damage, and a mobile home was moved a few feet with its roof peeled back. A boat on a trailer was flipped over, and anchored television antennae were pulled from the ground and bent. In Hickman County, several pole barns were damaged or destroyed, large trees were snapped or uprooted, several homes and their attendant carports sustained various degrees of damage, and a two-story garage was destroyed.	[10]
EF0	W of Nesbit	DeSoto	MS	34.8759°N 90.0442°W	0610 – 0612	1.08 mi (1.74 km)	100 yd (91 m)	$10,000	Several large trees were downed, including a couple that were snapped, and shingle damage was observed.	[10]
EF1	ENE of Pope	Panola	MS	34.2432°N 89.8904°W	0642 – 0643	0.11 mi (0.18 km)	30 yd (27 m)	$50,000	Trees were snapped, power lines were downed, a dumpster was overturned, and bolted-down playground equipment was tossed.	[10]
EF0	NE of Mayfield	Graves	KY	36.7613°N 88.5263°W	0647 – 0650	2.35 mi (3.78 km)	40 yd (37 m)	$15,000	A small wooden shed was demolished, with debris tossed outward up to 90 yd (82 m). Trees and tree limbs were snapped, downed, or uprooted.	[10]
EF0	SE of Gadsden	Crockett	TN	35.7736°N 88.9905°W	0714 – 0715	0.02 mi (0.032 km)	25 yd (23 m)	$5,000	Many trees were snapped.	[10]
EF2	E of Humboldt	Gibson	TN	35.8088°N 88.9066°W	0720 – 0725	3.04 mi (4.89 km)	200 yd (180 m)	$500,000	Numerous trees were damaged, snapped, or uprooted, and several power poles and power lines were downed. Numerous homes sustained various degrees of damage, and a carport, two medal sheds, and a wooden swing set were all completely destroyed. A tour bus was lifted and turned, and a semi-trailer was flipped over.	[10]
EF3	SSW of Ashland, MS to E of Pocahontas, TN	Benton (MS), Tippah (MS), Hardeman (TN), McNairy (TN)	MS, TN	34.8008°N 89.1893°W	0748 – 0818	29.58 mi (47.60 km)	880 yd (800 m)	$1,760,000	3 deaths – A long-lived and significant tornado began in Benton County, Mississippi, inflicting minor damage to 23 homes, causing major damage to 6 homes, and completely destroying 11 homes. A transmission tower collapsed and was severely twisted. In Tippah County, Mississippi, numerous homes were damaged and five were destroyed. After crossing the state line into Hardeman County, Tennessee, the tornado completely destroyed 2 mobile homes and a house, inflicted major damage to 13 homes, and caused minor damage to 5 houses and 2 mobile homes. It dissipated in McNairy County. In all four counties, numerous trees were snapped, downed, or debarked, and numerous power poles were downed. The tornado resulted in three fatalities, two in Benton County and a third in Hardeman County; all were occupants in destroyed mobile homes.	[10]
EF2	NW of Crofton	Christian	KY	37.0571°N 87.5981°W	0749 – 0800	9.54 mi (15.35 km)	300 yd (270 m)	$300,000	The tornado leveled a garage, severely damaged or destroyed three mobile homes, and inflicted moderate to major damage to two mobile homes. Several barns received minor to moderate damage, and hundreds of trees were snapped or uprooted.	[10]
EF0	White Plains area	Hopkins	KY	37.1382°N 87.4°W	0804 – 0805	0.53 mi (0.85 km)	75 yd (69 m)	$70,000	A barn was blown down, a mobile home was moved slightly with a portion of its roof removed, and several trees and tree limbs were felled.	[10]
EF0	W of Ramer	McNairy	TN	35.0787°N 88.7365°W	0820 – 0821	0.16 mi (0.26 km)	50 yd (46 m)	$15,000	Several trees were felled, and a mobile home sustained minor roof damage.	[10]
EF2	SW of Selmer to W of Lebanon	McNairy, Hardin	TN	35.1184°N 88.6892°W	0824 – 0858	25.74 mi (41.42 km)	880 yd (800 m)	$7,400,000	The tornado began in McNairy County, moving across the county and impacting parts of Selmer and Milledgeville. A large house and a mobile home were moved off their foundations, a trailer was destroyed, several buildings were collapsed, and a barn and two churches were destroyed. Overall, 22 houses and 15 mobile homes were completely destroyed, 59 houses and 11 mobile homes sustained major damage, and 219 houses and 12 mobile homes experienced minor damage. Several other buildings or outbuildings were damaged or destroyed. In Hardin County, a house sustained major damage while roof damage was inflicted to a second, and a shed sustained minor damage. In both counties, numerous trees were downed, some of which caused damage to structures.	[10]
EF2	Abbeville	Lafayette	MS	34.4891°N 89.5129°W	0827 – 0829	1.43 mi (2.30 km)	75 yd (69 m)	$250,000	1 death – A single family home was destroyed, killing an occupant, a mobile home was destroyed, three other homes sustained major damage, and numerous trees were uprooted.	[10]
EF0	N of Cedar Grove	Henderson, Decatur	TN	35.4984°N 88.2825°W	0913 – 0922	5.7 mi (9.2 km)	100 yd (91 m)	$110,000	The tornado began in Henderson County, Tennessee before dissipating in Decatur County. An outbuilding and building sustained roof damage, five homes were damaged, and several trees were knocked down.	[10]
EF1	S of Lobelville	Perry	TN	35.6989°N 87.8503°W	0945 – 0956	6.93 mi (11.15 km)	250 yd (230 m)	$160,000	Hundreds of trees were snapped or uprooted, a home sustained minor roof damage, and a few outbuildings were destroyed.	[10]
EF2	WNW of Centerville	Hickman	TN	35.7911°N 87.6977°W	1000 – 1012	9.15 mi (14.73 km)	600 yd (550 m)	$610,000	Thousands of trees were snapped or uprooted, a brick home sustained considerable structural damage, and several barns were destroyed.	[10]
EF2	W of Wrigley	Hickman	TN	35.8921°N 87.5126°W	1017 – 1022	3.89 mi (6.26 km)	250 yd (230 m)	$210,000	Hundreds of trees were snapped, a brick home sustained significant roof damage, and several barns were destroyed.	[10]
EF1	N of Nashville	Davidson	TN	36.2867°N 86.7464°W	1107 – 1112	3.64 mi (5.86 km)	300 yd (270 m)	$500,000	Several trailers sustained roof and underpinning damage, an old building and other structures had their roofs uplifted or removed, power poles and business signs were blown over, and hundreds of trees were snapped. Several large projectiles impacted the Rivergate Mall, leaving craters in the facade.	[10]
EF1	NNW of Hendersonville	Sumner	TN	36.3308°N 86.6444°W	1117 – 1127	5.05 mi (8.13 km)	400 yd (370 m)	$465,000	Hundreds of trees were snapped and several structures sustained roof damage, including an old home that was lifted partially off its foundation.	[10]
EF1	NW of Primm Springs	Hickman	TN	35.8374°N 87.2672°W	1145 – 1147	2.73 mi (4.39 km)	50 yd (46 m)	$15,000	Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted.	[10]
EF0	Tompkinsville	Monroe	KY	36.7°N 85.7576°W	1335 – 1337	5.7 mi (9.2 km)	50 yd (46 m)	$5,000	A tobacco barn and several trees were damaged.	[10]
EF2	WNW of Delta	Wayne	KY	36.8855°N 84.73°W	2025 – 2030	0.25 mi (0.40 km)	100 yd (91 m)	$50,000	Numerous trees were felled and the roof was blown off a brick home, resulting in the collapse of an outside wall corner.	[10]

Footnotes

1. All dates are based on the local time zone where the tornado touched down; however, all times are in Coordinated Universal Time for consistency.
2. All damage totals are in 2010 USD unless otherwise stated.

References

1. "Arkansas tornadoes kill woman; drowning also reported". The Norman Transcript. 2010-05-02. Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
2. "Miss. hit by deadly weather again s". Laurel Leader Call. 2010-05-02. Archived from the original on 7 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
3. "April 30, 2010 storm reports". Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Storm Prediction Center. 2010-04-30. Archived from the original on 23 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
4. "1 Dead, Dozens Injured in Arkansas Tornadoes". FOX News. 2010-05-01. Archived from the original on 4 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
5. "AP News Alert". Associated Press. 2010-04-30. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
7. "May 1, 2010 storm reports". Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Storm Prediction Center. 2010-05-01. Archived from the original on 4 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
8. "Interstates flood, Mayor urges residents to stay home". Nashville, Tenn: WKRN. 2010-05-02. Archived from the original on 5 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
9. Schelzig, Erik (2010-05-03). "Storms kill 15". The Salina Journal. Associated Press. pp. A1–A2. ISSN 0745-127X.
10. National Climatic Data Center (May 2010). "May 2010" (PDF). Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena with Late Reports and Corrections. Asheville, North Carolina: United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 52 (5). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 9, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.