A multi-day sequence of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks occurred in the United States from April 23–28, 2026. This event followed an active pattern of severe weather in mid-April, including a widespread tornado outbreak across the Midwestern United States on April 17. On April 23, an enhanced risk for severe weather forecast was issued by the SPC for portions of eastern Kansas and northern Oklahoma, and strong tornadoes possible along a dryline in Oklahoma. Multiple tornado watches and warnings were issued during the afternoon and evening, and a tornado emergency was issued for southern Enid, when an EF4 tornado caused extreme damage to multiple houses and other structures on April 23, injuring 10 people.
A moderate risk for severe weather was issued on April 25 for portions of Oklahoma and Texas. That evening, a high-end EF2 tornado tracked through portions of Runaway Bay, Texas, completely destroying one home and heavily damaging multiple others, killing one person and inflicting numerous injuries. In Runaway Bay, 1,690 people were left without power and 248 are without power in Springtown. Twenty families were left displaced by the tornadoes. On April 28, another moderate risk of severe weather was outlined for portions of North Texas. That evening, an EF3 tornado tracked through portions of Mineral Wells, Texas, destroying warehouses and significantly damaging several homes. Five people were injured, two of whom were hospitalized.
Overall, 119 tornadoes were confirmed from this outbreak sequence and resulted in three deaths, one that was tornadic and two that were related to non-tornadic impacts. At least 21 people were injured.
Meteorological synopsis
April 23 On April 23, an enhanced risk for severe weather was issued by the Storm Prediction Center (SPC), and strong tornadoes were predicted to be possible along a dryline in Oklahoma. Multiple tornado watches and warnings were issued during the afternoon and evening, The Enid tornado developed on the evening of April 23, 2026, as part of a regional severe weather outbreak affecting portions of the central United States. The event was associated with a strongly unstable air mass across northern Oklahoma, characterized by rich low-level moisture, steep lapse rates, and strong vertical wind shear conducive to supercell thunderstorm development.
Thunderstorm initiation occurred during the late afternoon and evening hours as a capping inversion weakened, allowing explosive convective development. Discrete supercells formed across northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas, several of which became tornadic. One dominant supercell tracked eastward across Garfield County, Oklahoma, producing a violent, long-lived EF4 tornado near Enid. The parent supercell exhibited classic characteristics of a cyclic tornadic storm, maintaining a persistent mesocyclone as it traversed the region. The broader convective system produced multiple tornadoes across Oklahoma and neighboring states, along with large hail and damaging winds.
April 25–27 A moderate risk was issued on April 25 for parts of Oklahoma and Texas, delineating a 10% risk for tornadoes highlighted for the Texas and Oklahoma border.
Another moderate risk was issued on April 27 for parts of Missouri and Illinois with small parts of Kentucky and Tennessee for the risk for multiple strong to intense tornadoes. A 15% risk of tornadoes was outlined. A PDS Tornado watch was issued at 2:45 P.M. CDT, covering northeast Arkansas and western Tennessee, southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois, southwest Indiana, and western Kentucky. April 27 was the first day where the majority of the severe storms were not caused by the near-stationary extratropical cyclone which caused the severe weather from April 23 to April 26, instead being caused by an intense extratropical cyclone which moved in just south of it. On April 27, one long-tracked EF2 tornado was confirmed in Missouri well east of Kansas City, but all the other tornadoes were relatively weak as supercells were unable to reach the intensity that was expected of them.
April 28 On April 28, a third moderate risk was issued for parts of northern Texas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. A 45% risk for hail was issued with baseball to grapefruit sized hail likely with intense supercells.After some morning activity centered in north-central Texas tracking East, a few Storms developed in the same region by about 2:00pm, with all the storms quickly strengthening and becoming supercells due to the favorable environment, mainly moving southeast.
In particular, one parent storm and its second to the side tracked southward for several hours producing up to softball sized hail and damaging winds before finally dying down by midnight, the parent storm showing a good hook echo on radar and very strong RFD outflow winds. The storm also produced a few tornadoes to the east of Dallas, with its strongest being an EF1 tornado that damaged a few metal structures and uprooted trees.
Confirmed tornadoes
Vance Air Force Base–Enid, Oklahoma
This long-lived, slow-moving, and violent tornado, which prompted the issuance of a tornado emergency, touched down just outside of Vance Air Force Base in Garfield County at 8:11 pm CDT. It initially moved east-northeastward, causing minor EF0 tree damage before crossing South Oakwood Road and moving over the southern side of the base, crossing over a runway. After exiting the base, the tornado began to rapidly intensify and reached EF2 strength as it turned due east and crossed over Cleveland Street, knocking over tanks and road signs, snapping or uprooting trees, and leaving swirl marks in wheat fields. The tornado then turned northeastward and crossed Wheat Capital Road before knocking down more road signs and power poles as it crossed US 81 south of Enid.
The tornado then became violent and reached EF4 intensity as it crested a small hill and struck the Grayridge neighborhood. Several homes in the community were heavily damaged or destroyed, including six that were leveled with winds estimated at , and several others had exterior walls knocked down and roofs removed. It also swept away an outbuilding, damaged and destroyed vehicles, and uprooted and debarked trees. The tornado maintained EF3-EF4 intensity as it continued northeastward, obliterating entire groves of trees, including one hardwood tree that was pulled from the ground and displaced to the east, snapping power poles, inflicting minor roof damage to at least one home along East Fox Drive, tossing several sections of pipe into a field, and depositing dumpsters into a gulley as it reached EF4 intensity again and crossed South 16th Street. The tornado then turned north-northeastward and struck a farmstead as it crossed East Southgate Road, heavily damaging or destroying multiple outbuildings and metal building systems, including a newly constructed machine shed and a well-built pole barn that were swept away, breaking a shipping container into pieces, which were scattered in a field, tossing two RVs, with one of them not being found until over a month later northeast of its original location, and destroying a canopy. One structure was so obliterated that storm surveyors were unable to determine what it was; a home nearby suffered extensive roof and exterior wall damage, wood and metal fencing was extensively damaged, with some poles ripped from the ground, and extreme ground scouring was noted as well, along with a debris field that was blown downwind. After striking the farmstead, the tornado snapped three wooden H-frame transmission towers as it continued north-northeastward. It then turned back northeastward and again fluctuated between EF3-EF4 intensity, mauling another grove of trees, removing them from the ground, and tossing them.
Southeast of Enid, the tornado executed a loop west of South 30th Street, tossing another tree, which was never found. The outer part of the circulation uprooted trees, twisted, and blew over a stop sign at the intersection of Rupe Avenue and South 30th Street, and knocked down power poles. The tornado then reached EF4 intensity for the final time and struck another farmstead with estimated peak winds of as it completed its loop and moved east-southeastward; a poorly-anchored two-story cinderblock farmhouse was completely swept away, an outbuilding was leveled, large farm objects were tossed and destroyed, and a truck bed was twisted into a mangled tree. One large tank was displaced to the north, an adjacent large tank was thrown and then dragged or rolled for to the east-sortheast, and a bald cypress tree was stripped of all its leaves, flagged of all its significant branches, partially debarked, and thrown to the east-southeast approximately . Nearby, more trees were obliterated, including several trees that were removed from the ground or snapped at their base and thrown significant distances and/or left with little to no limbs, along with being partially or mostly debarked, fences were damaged, and extensive ground scouring was left behind along with swirl marks in a wheat field as well.
After crossing South 30th Street, the tornado weakened as it continued east-southeastward and then east-northeastward, but remained intense, extensively damaging another tree line at EF3 intensity. An outbuilding on the outer fringe of the circulation also suffered minor EF0 roof damage, although it was later determined that part of the roof was already missing from the structure. The tornado then turned back to the northeast, and struck a third farmstead as it crossed South 42nd Street near its intersection with East Rupe Avenue. Multiple outbuildings were destroyed, including one large well-built one that was leveled, with pickup trucks inside of it shifted on the slab, and a wooden power pole was pulled out of the ground and tossed about . More wooden power poles were snapped, trees were snapped, uprooted, and debarked, hay bales were moved a significant distance, shrubbery was mangled and yanked, a fence was obliterated, and a water well faucet was pulled from the ground as well. The house on the property was largely spared as it suffered only EF0 siding damage. The tornado then steadily weakened as it executed a second loop and again moved east-southeastward before turning east-northeastward along East Rupe Avenue, snapping more trees at high-end EF1 intensity before dissipating right before reaching Boggy Creek, to the west of the Enid Woodring Regional Airport at 8:48 pm CDT.
The tornado was on the ground for 37 minutes, tracked , and reached a maximum width of . The tornado injured one person along its path, and it was the strongest tornado to strike Garfield County since an F4 tornado impacted to the east nearly 35 years prior, on April 26, 1991. It was also the first EF4 tornado to occur in the state since an EF4 tornado that struck Barnsdall on May 6, 2024. A photograph from Enid was found over away in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. In July 2026, researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the National Severe Storms Laboratory estimated the winds of this tornado be above the threshold of EF5 intensity, with winds greater than . Another estimate, conducted through a Monte Carlo method, concluded that the maximum estimated winds were . As a result, it was determined that the tornado probably possessed EF5 winds in the vicinity of East Southgate Road.
Runaway Bay, Texas