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EF2 tornado in Pulaski County, Arkansas

Tornado April 25, 2011 · Pulaski County, Arkansas

EF2
Rating
5.2 mi
Path length
350 yd
Path width
4
Injuries
$125.0M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 350 yards (0.20 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

Most of this tornado's path was through Little Rock Air Force Base. At least five C-130 aircraft were damaged, three of them severely. A number of buildings in the base shopping area and flight line area suffered damage, including having roofs torn off. The fire station had its roof taken off and its doors buckled. Altogether, more than 20 tons of sheet metal from roofs and buildings was recovered for recycling. Cars were overturned in the parking lot of the Base Exchange. More than 135 houses in the base housing area were damaged or destroyed. A toilet from a house in the base housing area was found lodged in the roof of the Base Exchange shopping center, more than 1/2 mile away. Four people were injured at the air base. North Pulaski High School also suffered damage. The auditorium had its roof torn off and one wall collapsed. A wall of the chemistry building collapsed, weakening the roof of a building that housed 15 classrooms.

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 Lynch (34.8720, -92.1702).

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 289604. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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