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EF1 tornado in Pulaski County, Arkansas

Tornado April 15, 2011 · Pulaski County, Arkansas

EF1
Rating
13.8 mi
Whole path
200 yd
Path width
1
Injury
$20.5M
Damage as recorded

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 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

A tornado touched down near the Arkansas River levee and tracked through the Lands End Plantation. On the plantation, the trailer of a tractor-trailer truck was overturned, an old cotton gin was destroyed, and a 150 year-old pecan orchard was severely damaged. After leaving the plantation, numerous large trees were blown down and outbuildings were damaged. A mobile home was destroyed and its occupant was badly injured. Another mobile home was knocked off its foundation. A 250-gallon propane tank was ripped from its foundation and came unplugged. The tornado exited Pulaski County north-northeast of Wampoo and continued into Lonoke County west-southwest of Willow Belle.

The wider storm

A cold front and strong area of low pressure aloft approached Arkansas on the 14th. The result was an outbreak of severe weather from the evening of the 14th through the pre-dawn hours of the 15th. Several tornadoes occurred. Additionally, storms developed into line segments which often bowed out, creating damaging thunderstorm winds.

Began near Rottaken (34.5988, -92.1469).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 289573. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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