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EF1 tornado in Prairie County, Arkansas

Tornado April 25, 2011 · Prairie County, Arkansas

EF1
Rating
6.2 mi
Path length
100 yd
Path width
$25K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 100 yards (0.06 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 mobile home was knocked off its foundation, shingles were blown off a few houses, and numerous trees were blown down.

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 Crossroad (34.9309, -91.7342).

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 297159. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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