During the morning and afternoon of April 24, 2010, a massive, long-tracked, and devastating EF4 tornado impacted several towns and communities across the U.S. states of Louisiana and Mississippi. The tornado caused 10 fatalities and 146 injuries during its path, which is the fourth-longest tornado path on record in Mississippi. Losses accrued from the tornado was estimated at $409.5 million (2010 USD). The tornado occurred during a multi-day tornado outbreak spanning from April 22 to April 25. The tornado received the EF4 rating on the Enhanced Fujita scale, with maximum estimated winds of based off two destroyed structures in Yazoo City and near Durant. This was the first violent (EF4+) tornado of the year and the deadliest tornado of the 2010 tornado season. The tornado was also considered the worst natural disaster to occur in Mississippi since Hurricane Katrina almost five years prior. The tornado is also sometimes referred to as the Yazoo City–Durant tornado or simply the Yazoo City tornado.
An intense supercell produced the tornado west of Tallulah in Louisiana and almost immediately intensified to EF3 strength, maintaining that intensity before crossing the Mississippi River. The tornado crossed into Mississippi at EF2 intensity, inflicting severe damage to structures and vegetation. The tornado intensified further to low-end EF4 strength south of Yazoo City. Several homes and businesses were demolished and heavy deforestation occurred. The tornado inflicted EF2-EF3 damage and maintained intensity before restrengthening to low-end EF4 intensity southwest of Durant, destroying a couple of homes. Following this period of restrengthening, the tornado weakened, fluctuating between EF1 and EF2 strength before strengthening back to high-end EF3 intensity in southern Choctaw County. The tornado weakened afterwards before lifting north of Sturgis. Initially, there were uncertainties about whether this was one continuous tornado or a series of tornadoes, before further surveying concluded that it was one unified track. Throughout the path, three tornado emergencies were issued for multiple counties by the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Jackson, Mississippi.
The tornado was the largest on record for the state for over 10 years, with a maximum width of . The tornado was, at the time, the ninth-deadliest tornado in Mississippi on record, and the deadliest to occur in the state since 1992. It was the first violent tornado to occur in Mississippi in the month of April since 1978. Along the tornado's path, 849 homes, businesses, and structures were damaged or destroyed. Hundreds of residents across the affected counties were left without electricity, and severe damage was inflicted to agriculture and timber.
After the tornado, U.S. President Barack Obama declared a federal disaster in Mississippi. The governors of Louisiana and Mississippi, Bobby Jindal and Haley Barbour, declared states of emergencies for the parish and counties affected by the tornado in their respective states. National Guardsmen were deployed to Yazoo City and search and rescue operations occurred across the affected areas. In the relief effort, help from state officials, local businesses, non-profit groups, including The Salvation Army, and several other organizations arrived in affected areas. The recovery and cleanup effort removed tens of million tons of debris throughout the tornado's path. Afterwards, several businesses and homes were repaired or rebuilt.
Meteorological setup
Episode narrative
Forecasting in advance
On April 20, the American weather forecasting agency, Storm Prediction Center (SPC), first highlighted a severe weather risk for the lower Mississippi River basin region for April 24. The SPC noted factors that indicated potential tornadic activities: a boundary layer, an area of moist air moving into an area, and strong wind shear. Large hail and damaging winds were also expected. A large upper-level trough was forecast to move slowly across the central United States and center over Illinois. A strong southwesterly flow aloft was forecast to spread across the Mississippi Valley into the Gulf Coast Region. Within the area south of the Ohio Valley, a strong wind field was spreading across the region.
Day of the event At 12:57 a.m. CDT on April 24, a high risk for severe weather was designated over portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas. The risk was accompanied by a 30% hatched risk, an enhanced probability for severe weather for strong tornadoes, severe hail, and strong damaging winds for the area. A strengthening upper-level storm system traversed the Central United States. A cold front moved eastward from the central southern Mississippi River Valley into the Ohio River Valley. Severe thunderstorms developed during the morning hours, with conditions expected to become more favorable throughout the day. A potent wind shear was expected to spread across the moist, warm sector, which is a region of warm air ahead of the cold front.
Discrete, cyclic supercells were forecast over the high risk zone in the mid-morning into the afternoon, with convective clusters and lines of embedded supercells also likely. Forecast soundings, observations that decipher the environment of an area, over the high risk area showed a low-level jet (LLJ). Supporting the LLJ was a large hodograph, which plots winds with soundings from Earth's atmosphere. The storm relative helicity, measuring the potential for updraft rotation, was at 300-600 joules per kilogram (J/kg). In addition, the mid-level convective available potential energy, the measure of available energy for thunderstorm development, was at 1500—2500 j/kg.
At 9:31 a.m. CDT, upper air analysis showcased the upstream trough had negatively tilted, with an embedded jet stream heading east-northeast into the Ark-La-Tex region. The jet stream was expected to transfer into regions in the mid to lower Ohio valley later in the afternoon. A surface low tracked northward from Arkansas to St. Louis as it underwent significant deepening. Morning convection was expected to move into the Tennessee Valley and become elevated, no longer surface-based, over time as they moved into the Cumberland Plateau and Appalachian Mountains.
Event narrative
Storm initiation
At 10:28 a.m. CDT, a couple of large thunderstorms began demonstrating supercell characteristics in southeastern Mississippi. The storms were forecast to move into Alabama throughout the late morning hours. Large-scale ascent continued downstream, with further destabilizing of the warm sector occurring over the lower Mississippi valley. Favorable low-level wind shear and a moist and unstable boundary layer maintained the possibilities of strong tornadoes throughout the afternoon. Multiple discrete supercells began ahead of the developing quasi-linear convective system (QLCS), which is a line of thunderstorms riding along a cold front.
Particularly Dangerous Situation At 11:30 a.m. CDT, a particularly dangerous situation (PDS) tornado watch was in effect across several states, with a high probability of multiple significant tornadoes, large hail, and strong straight-line winds up to . A shortwave trough rotated across the area. The SPC noted that tornadic supercells were already in progress across Mississippi, with strong wind shear profiles expected to spread north and east. Additionally, a rapidly moving squall line was moving across northern Arkansas, forecast to evolve into a strong QLCS with intense, damaging winds.
Tornado summary Warning history Warning chronology of the tornadoTypeCounties and Parishes includedTime (CDT)Ref.Confirmed Carroll, LA Franklin, LA Madison, LA Issaquena, MS Sharkey, MS Warren, MS10:57 a.m.PDS Madison, LA Carroll, LA Issaquena, MS Sharkey, MS Warren, MS11:21 a.m. Emergency Yazoo, MS Issaquena, MS Sharkey, MS Warren, MS11:48 a.m. Yazoo, MS Attala, MS Holmes, MS Madison, MS12:24 p.m. Attala, MS Holmes, MS Choctaw, MS Montgomery, MS Carroll, MS12:57 p.m. This is a list of all types of tornado warnings that were issued by NWS Jackson, MS. In total, three tornado emergencies were issued by the tornado. Louisiana and along the Mississippi River
The tornado touched down in Madison Parish, west of Tallulah, at 11:09 a.m. CDT. The tornado quickly intensified to EF3 intensity, downing a couple of high-tension power poles along Interstate 20, and flipping a tractor-trailer, injuring the driver. The tornado traveled northeast through rural areas, carving cycloidal marks onto fields and snapping trees and power poles along US 80. The tornado maintained the intensity as it crossed Willow Bayou Road, where several homes were heavily damaged, multiple vehicles and tractors were damaged, and trees were snapped. Maintaining its intensity, the tornado crossed Parker Road, causing intense ground scarring. A few framed homes either sustained moderate to major roof damage or complete loss of their exterior walls, and a double-wide mobile home was leveled. The tornado then snapped an electrical transmission tower, receiving a low-end EF3 damage rating. Several trees nearby were snapped or uprooted.
The tornado maintained EF3 intensity, crossing US 65 and Levee Road, and impacted the Complex Chemical Company plant just south of the community of Omega. Every warehouse, the electrical infrastructure of the plant, and the office areas on site were destroyed. The piping system sustained severe damage, and communications went offline. Three rail cars were rolled off their track, seven storage tanks were overturned, a crane was crumpled, and spilled materials were strewn across the site. In the plant, 14 employees were working at the time the tornado struck. All survived, though three received minor injuries. At 11:21 a.m. CDT, the NWS issued a PDS tornado warning for the rest of Madison and Carroll parishes and counties in Mississippi. Storm spotters confirmed a large tornado was ongoing, with an estimated forward speed of . The tornado crossed the Mississippi River into Mississippi shortly thereafter. The tornado weakened to EF2 intensity entering Warren County. Numerous hardwood trees were snapped or uprooted along the Mississippi River. The tornado briefly crossed Eagle Lake before impacting a neighborhood west of Eagle Bend at high-end EF2 intensity. Several poorly-built homes were heavily damaged or destroyed, a couple of them were unroofed, and multiple trees were snapped. The tornado briefly entered back into Louisiana before re-entering Mississippi, moving into Issaquena County.
Rest of Mississippi The tornado made a sharp northward turn, inflicting low-end EF2 damage south of Cypress Lake, downing several trees. The tornado traversed US 61 south of Valley Park, snapping and uprooting numerous trees in the Delta National Forest. The area received a high-end EF2 damage rating. An outbuilding, a separate building from a main home, along the highway was also destroyed as the tornado went through the extreme southeastern portion of Sharkey County.
Yazoo County