EF3 Tornado — Benton, Arkansas

2024-05-26 · near Cherokee City, Benton, Arkansas

Event narrative

This is the second segment of a two-segment tornado. The tornado intensified and widened as it moved into Benton County, across Coon Hollow Road and Carlton Drive, where homes and outbuildings were destroyed and tree damage was extensive. Several homes were destroyed and trees were stubbed and debarked on Highway 102. The tornado then turned north-northeast, remained stationary for several minutes north of Highway 102 (based on radar data), and then dissipated near Mt Zion Road. About 60 homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed by the tornado. This tornado produced a tornadic debris signature from KINX, KSRX, and KSGF WSR-88Ds. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in this segment of the tornado was 145 to 155 mph.

Wider weather episode

Severe thunderstorms developed over western Oklahoma during the afternoon of the 25th, along a sharpening dry line, and moved east across Oklahoma during the evening, and across northwestern Arkansas during the early morning hours of the 26th. The atmosphere east of the dry line across Oklahoma and western Arkansas was moist and very unstable. Wind fields above the ground and deep layer wind shear strengthened during the afternoon through the early morning hours of the 26th, as an upper level disturbance translated into the Southern Plains. Additionally, low level wind shear increased late in the evening and continued very strong into the early morning hours of the 26th. These conditions were very supportive for the development of supercell thunderstorms. One of these supercells became particularly intense and long-tracked as it moved across northeastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas, producing multiple tornadoes, several of which were strong. Large hail to baseball size and swaths of damaging straight-line wind also occurred, resulting in considerable damage.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.3140, -94.5880)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1184527. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.