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EF2 tornado in Garland County, Arkansas

Tornado April 25, 2011 · Garland County, Arkansas

EF2
Rating
14.4 mi
Path length
300 yd
Path width
10
Injuries
$5.0M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 300 yards (0.17 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

This tornado affected areas around the Bear community, Brady Mountain Rd., the eastern end of Lake Ouachita, and Lake Ouachita State Park. A Red Cross survey indicated approximately 1 house destroyed, 4 houses and 3 mobile homes with major damage, 16 houses and 9 mobile homes with minor damage, and 3 houses and 1 mobile home affected. A large metal building that once housed a golf academy sustained severe damage, with the roof torn off and metal girders twisted. A camping trailer was blown into a field and destroyed. Several outbuildings were destroyed. Hundreds of trees were knocked down or snapped off. Numerous power lines were blown down. Considerable damage occurred at Lake Ouachita State Park. A portion of the tornado's track was determined during an aerial survey by the Arkansas Forestry Commission.

The wider storm

From the 24th through the 27th, the arrival of a slow-moving cold front and several low pressure areas aloft triggered several rounds of thunderstorms. Tornadoes, severe storms, and flash flooding resulted. Widespread areal flooding followed the flash flooding. Some of this flooding was due to heavy rain, while some of it was caused by water from rivers, creeks, and bayous backing up onto the land. On the evening of the 25th, devastating tornadoes affected several areas in central Arkansas. More than 140,000 electric customers in Arkansas lost power. Heavy rains during this period were the beginning of the Great Flood of 2011 in Arkansas. Much of the flooding lasted well into May, and some even continued all the way to late June.

Began near Maddox (34.5066, -93.3020).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 289587. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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