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EF2 tornado in Marion County, Arkansas

Tornado May 26, 2024 · Marion County, Arkansas

EF2
Rating
21.6 mi
Whole path
2,000 yd
Path width
4
Deaths
1
Injury

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Boone County → Marion County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 2,000 yards (1.14 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

The Boone-Marion County tornado continued into Marion County from Boone County, paralleling just south of US Highway 62, near Pyatt.

Marion County EM reported three fatalities from this tornado.

Extensive tree damage was observed across several county roads,

and a few mobile homes were tossed and destroyed on Marion County

Road 4010. After crossing Marion County Road 4010, the tornado

path width increased to its widest point, and likely maintained a

maximum path width of around 2000 yards for a few miles, via

satellite imagery, as it moved through the Crooked Creek Valley.

Extensive tree damage was observed along and around Crooked

Creek, and moderate damage to the second level of a tin home was

found as well. The tornado kept moving northeast, snapping most

trees in its path as it crossed Crooked Creek multiple times and

eventually, Marion County Road 4006, where it moved over the Snow

Access Campground Area. The tornado then crossed US Highway

62 again near the small municipality of Snow, causing minor to

moderate damage to a few homes around the area. As the tornado

crossed US Highway 62, the path width began to decrease, and it

began moving more eastward. Mainly tree damage was observed to

the north of US Highway 62, and eventually it crossed State

Highway 125, and Marion County Road 3032, where more

extensive tree damage was observed, and another mobile home,

which was untethered, was lofted and completely destroyed. The

tornado continued to move east-northeast, causing mostly tree

damage, before eventually dissipating to the northwest of Summit.

This tornado tracked across two counties and was rated an EF3 with maximum estimated wind speeds

of up to 145 mph.

The wider storm

A couple long-tracked supercells moved across the northern two to three rows of counties during the predawn hours of the Memorial Day weekend. These storms triggered numerous tornadoes, some of which strong and long-lived, in addition to widespread straight-line wind damage.

Began near Eros (36.2087, -92.8893).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

6 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1181746. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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