Severe, Forecasts Tornado tracks, Enhanced Fujita scale ratings and county fatalities on Apr. The tornado moved northeast through Itawamba County before it crossed into . [2] An area of low pressure consolidated over Texas on April26 and traveled east while the aforementioned shortwave trough traversed the Mississippi River and Ohio River valleys. Each red triangle is the location of a tornado that caused EF5 or F5 damage. The vehicle then traveled another quarter . Wind shear was also strong, so the threat for supercells was high. NWS Infrared satellite loop from April 27-28, 2011, showing the tornado outbreak across the South and East. And then. Itclaimed more than 300 lives, injured 2,775 and was responsible for $12 billion in total damage, making it the costliest tornado outbreak in U.S. history. Despite the deadly toll, we'll never truly know how many lives were saved by timely National Weather Service warnings, and the considerable effort of the media to communicate those warnings. Multiple episodes of tornadic activity ensued with two waves of mesoscale convective systems in the morning hours followed by a widespread outbreak of supercells from Mississippi to North Carolina during the afternoon into the evening. -An SUV was tossed one-half mile into the town's water tower, then blown another one-quarter mile. - Dr. Greg Forbes. Although tornadoes of any intensity can be deadly, higher-endtwisters have historically killed a larger percentage of people. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and the Red Cross found 89.5 percent of the deaths in this outbreak were from these violent tornadoes. Warnings, however, are issued when severe weather is imminent or already occurring. Education [2] The multi-day outbreak culminated on April27 with the most violent day of tornadic activity since the 1974 Super Outbreak. No wonder there were so many long-track, violent tornadoes. By noon on April 27th, all the elements began to come together for an extreme severe weather outbreak. Become a Patron! This line was very efficient in producing wind damage as it pushed east. Two power plants were forced to shut down, including the TVA's Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant near Decatur, Alabama. Tracks of 15 violent - EF4 or EF5 - tornadoes on April 27, 2011. SKYWARN The per capita income for the town $14,030. Also seen almost one month later in Joplin, Missouri, this tornado crushed cars into almost unrecognizable balls, similar to what you can do with aluminum foil. Conditions cleared up across the Mid-South during the late morning hours on the 26th. Note: The final Apr. Furthermore, convective available potential energy (CAPE) values reached 2,5003,000J/kg1. Nine Ways To Tell The Difference. The worst storms finally pushed out of the Mid-South by 5:30 pm on April 27th. That would be an impressive outbreak alone. Extremely detailed analysis of treefall patterns indicates a start point 6.12 miles SW of Smithville. The Smithville High School Band has won two state Marching Championships. Several other vehicles in town were thrown hundreds of yards, torn into multiple pieces, stripped down to their frames, or wrapped around trees as well. Loss of life during this historic event was staggering. An early-morning squall line in the Tennessee Valley on April 27, 2011, produced an incredible 76 tornadoes in Mississippi, Alabama, east Tennessee, and north Georgia, according to theKnupp et al. But they had little trouble making peace with the tornados path. It did not take long for these storms to take on classic supercell structures and begin producing tornadoes. Wireless Alerts The National Weather Service classified the Wednesday afternoon twister that hit Smithville as an EF-5, the strongest rating for tornado damage. In April 1974, an even more powerful outbreak took place, producing more intense tornadoesEF-3s to EF-5sthan the 2011 Super Outbreak. The Knupp et al. You cant question the Lord. When Darwin Hathcock, the police chief, saw the funnel cloud beyond the tree line just a couple of miles away, he knew that his town would not be spared. The town was incorporated in 1845. This topped the number of tornadoes witnessed on April 3, 1974 (148), the other Super Outbreak. Dozens of large, anchor-bolted, well-built brick homes were completely swept away in town, and many large hardwood trees were completely debarked and denuded. He took off his two T-shirts and draped them over their bodies. The tornado outbreak affected almost onethird of the nation over its four-day span. The tornado produced additional high-end EF3 damage as it continued north of Hamilton, where several mobile homes and frame homes were destroyed, including one frame home at the bottom of a ravine that was swept clean from its foundation (though lack of road access prevented close inspection of the home's construction, precluding a potential higher rating at that location). Newspaper clips are embedded via newspapers.com. NWS Jackson History Questions? Of the 207 tornadoes April 27, 15 were rated violent tornadoes, either EF4 or EF5 on the Enhanced Fujita scale. [4] Local Local But this house and that house yonder were not so lucky. So far, 14 people have been declared dead, including several children, and 23 others are missing. Even during the crisis, amid so many tornadoes, the National Weather Service maintained an average warning lead time of 24 minutes, allowing many peopleto escape or prepare for the disaster. His mother, just out of the shower, was covered in a quilt. study concluded power outages caused by the morning pair of squall lines, including non-functioning outdoor sirens and NOAA weather radio transmitter outages, reduced the ability to get warnings out to the public during the most deadly afternoon and evening supercells in central and northern Alabama. Please try another search. If you would like to use an image/video in your project or blog, please contact us and we will grant permission if possible. Taylor Ann Boozer walks through the rubble of a demolished home May 15, 2011 in Smithville, Mississippi. According to the NWS Memphis, it was 35.1 miles. Multiple locations were found. Tornadoes assigned an EF5/F5rating have historically been rare, but when they do strike, the damage in the affected communities is devastating. Take control of your data. Severe Weather (MORE: A Meteorologist's Marathon Broadcast of the Superoutbreak). This allowed the atmosphere to recharge and become unstable again. Preliminary local storm reports for April 26th. Heavy rain lingered across the Mid-South through most of the early morning hours. The 2011 Smithville, Mississippi tornado was an extremely violent EF5 wedge tornado that devastated areas of rural Mississippi, including the town of Smithville, Mississippi during the afternoon of April 27, 2011, resulting in catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities. Pray, pray, pray! shouted his mother, Marcie Pearce, as the tornado hit the house. Tornado Track Maps: Here is the map for the entire tornado track: . This bow echo continued its fast eastward movement and exited the Mid-South by 1 am on the 26th. A watch means that there is potential for dangerous weather to affect your area. Additional supercell thunderstorms formed well ahead of the dry line in the warm, very moist, unstable, and highly sheared environment present across Mississippi and Alabama. More Satellite, FORECASTS This is a before (left) and after (right) picture of the Smithville, Mississippi area. Fed by a nearby waterway, the tornado churned right along the main street, Highway 25, chewing up houses and businesses, and shaking up the town like a child with a snow globe. Rivers/Lakes, Radar It's been over eight years since the last catastrophic EF5tornadostruck theUnited States, occurring in Moore, Oklahoma, on May 20, 2013. Estimated $12 Billion In Damage. Preliminary local storm reports for April 27th. Three-quarters of the town is gone. Updated with latest cost figures and additional details. There was no indication of ground impacts between the original site of the mobile home and where it ended up to indicate that the mobile home bounced extensively as it traveled. The Weather Companys primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. Incredibly, Marshall County, Alabama, was affected 15 separate times by a tornado on April 27, 2011. Twenty-three people were killed by the tornado that went . About Us. A clip from an ABC 33/40 broadcast on April 27, 2011, showed a live cam of a large tornado tearing through Tuscaloosa, Alabama (lower left), while meteorologist James Spann showed the tornado on radar (upper right). The worst storm moved over Calhoun, Chickasaw, Monroe, and Itawamba counties, producing two tornadoes that killed 22 people. To make use of these warnings yourself, pay attention to the severe weather alerts issued over your radio, television, weather radio, and cellular devices. [9] The tornado weakened as it continued through rural areas northeast of town and moved into Itawamba County, where it uprooted numerous trees and power lines and caused roof damage to a house before exiting the county. The SPC/NCDC/SDP/NWS Huntsville list 4:23 pm CDT as the end time. 2 in the definitive April 27 outbreak BAMS paper from Knupp, et al.). Note: Exact tornado path may not be straight and/or continuous. And, the event as a whole killed more people than any outbreak since 1936, when 454 individuals died. Regional Impacts Turned soil from a violent EF5 tornado that destroyed portions of Neshoba, Kemper, Winston, and Noxubee counties in Mississippi on April 27, 2011. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990", "SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Monroe County, MS", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Smithville,_Mississippi&oldid=1125458307, This page was last edited on 4 December 2022, at 03:08. US Dept of Commerce Contact us here! Tropical Weather The significant tornado parameter (STP) uses a combination of both wind shear and instability in lowest levels to diagnose the tornado risk. [1] The tornado was a part of the 2011 Super Outbreak, the largest tornado outbreak in United States history. Shrubbery along the perimeters of some homes was shredded and/or stripped as well, and debris from many of the obliterated homes was finely granulated into small pieces. 2) These are general tracks. The Hackleburg/Phil Campbell EF5 tornado was on the ground for132 miles. Smithville, MS EF-5 Tornado . The NCDC and NWS Birmingham list a total path length of 37.3 miles. Nineteen states have experienced an EF5/F5 tornado since 1950, as far east as Ohio and as far north as North Dakota. Dubbed the Super Outbreak of 2011, these storms took the. Not only is the Smithville EF5 examined, but the Houston - New Wren EF3 is also examined, peering into the life of the obscure yet violent tornado. The term supercellrefers to a rotating thunderstorm that is persistent, on a timescale much longer than a single, ordinary thunderstorm you may see, for instance, in the summer over the Southeast. [5][dead link][6] The tornado began producing remarkably intense damage and swept away multiple homes and structures as it moved northeast, following MS 25. This included some long-track EF3 tornadoes, an intensity somewhat rare for early-morning squall lines. The 2011 Super Outbreakwas the largest, costliest, and one of the deadliest tornado outbreaksever recorded, taking place in the Southern, Midwestern, and NortheasternUnited Statesfrom April 25 to 28, 2011, leaving catastrophic destruction in its wake. A special report on all of the extreme weather and climate conditions of April 2011 will be released by early summer 2011. Since 2007, tornadoes have been rated on the Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF0-EF5) based on the damage they cause. After weakening west of town, the tornado strengthened quickly as it moved into Cordova, carving a one-half-mile wide path of damage rated EF3 in the downtown area. We recognize our responsibility to use data and technology for good. We also examine the actions taken upon receiving the warning information. An earlier ending time via radar data was found at 4:21 pm CDT. Scientists attribute at least part of the 2011 Super Outbreak's notoriety to chance. Corrected coordinates based on ground level, aerial, and satellite imagery, as well as all reliable damage reports: Start: 34.023601/-88.481982 End: 34.326527 /-87.886584, In Smithville, MSBetty Newkirk, 78Celia Jackson, 92 (oldest victim)Courtney Easter, 21Elvin Patterson, 80Jean Manley, 70Hazel Noe, 80 (died of injuries 6 days later)Jesse Cox, 84Jessica Pace, 18 (youngest victim in MS)Carla Jones, 37 (died protecting her niece, nephew and son)Laverne Patterson, 77Lucille Parker, 86Maxine Chism, 79 (died of injures 22 days later)Mildred Elam, 79RoyEstes, 63 (died of injures the next day)RuthEstes, 61Scott Morris, 41, In AlabamaRodney Ables, 51Michelle Brown, 43Tammy Johnson, 52Jacob Ray, 5 (youngest victim)Virginia Revis, 53Allan Wideman, 49 (died of injuries 9 days later)Jeanette Wideman, 52. Another sinister aspect to the 2011 Super Outbreak was the repeated rounds of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. "I've looked through my own databases of tornado cases over the past decade, and can't find any tornado environment that even approaches this one," Davies wrote. Debris cleanup in Tuscaloosa alone cost $100 million. The stationbroadcasts emergency information on everything from natural disasters to oil spills to public safety concerns, such as AMBER alerts. National Weather Service Additional storms formed across southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana during the overnight hours and crossed the Mississippi River by midnight. [11] Several additional homes were damaged and a chicken house was destroyed as the tornado approached Franklin County. A historic outbreak of severe weather and tornadoes occurred on April 25-27 across the southern and southeast parts of the country. All NOAA. Twenty-three were killed, and roughly 61 injured. Alone, the state accounted for 69 of the tornadoes and fell victim to the events costliest tornado. The Mar 18, 1925 Tri-State tornado outbreak is first with 747 fatalities. Powerful tornadoes struck outside of Alabama as well. Please select one of the following: Local KNQA Standard Radar (low bandwidth), Local KGWX Standard Radar (low bandwidth), This is the Late April Tornado Outbreak Summary. Both the radar and radome encasing the radar were blown off and destroyed, leaving just the tower standing. A protruding anchor bolt from slab with base plate ripped away is shown among the rubble of a destroyed home in Smithville, Mississippi, following an EF5 tornado on April 27, 2011. A semi truck was torn apart with the only remaining piece found 1.4 miles away. Winter Weather Its just the way the Lord done it. Read the Late April Tornado Outbreak Summary. They could not breathe. The previous EF4 tornado occurred on April 29, 2017 in Canton, Texas. Then it was gone., I have been through cancer four times, she said. SMITHVILLE, Miss. Almost 350 tornadoes tore through the U.S. in a four-day span from April 25-28, 2011. The bow echo raced across central and eastern Arkansas and crossed the Mississippi River at around 10 pm on the 25th. Natural Hazard Statistics, Additional Info Spot Forecast Request Monroe County alone has now confirmed 15 deaths, with 14 in Smithville. April 27, 2011, likely remains the deadliest day for tornadoes in the last 85 years. The winds in the mid levels of the atmosphere increased to 80-100 mph and helped deepen the surface low further which in turn caused the low level winds to become stronger. Values of this parameter were virtually off the chart, compared to a more typical severe weather scenario. Preliminary local storm reports for April 25th. This storm produced 4 tornadoes over Craighead county. Climate Prediction National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Their ears felt close to bursting. Please Contact Us. Olive (MS) team quarterbacked by future NFL great Steve McNair. Smithville is a town in Monroe County, Mississippi. This storm later produced tornadoes in Hardeman and Chester counties. Tornado Talk, LLC 2022, All Rights Reserved, Hazel Noe, 80 (died of injuries 6 days later), Carla Jones, 37 (died protecting her niece, nephew and son), Maxine Chism, 79 (died of injures 22 days later), RoyEstes, 63 (died of injures the next day), Allan Wideman, 49 (died of injuries 9 days later). Please select one of the following: Situational Awareness for Everyone (SAFE) Page, Latest Public Information Statement (PNS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Then I bent over and I cried like a baby. On April 25-27 across the South and east is the location of a demolished May... 1974 Super outbreak was the repeated rounds of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes occurred on April 27, 2011 from,! Strong, so the threat for supercells was high May 15, 2011, likely remains the deadliest day tornadoes. 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