EF3 tornado in Craighead County, Arkansas

This tornado developed just north of I-555 and west of Caraway Road. The tornado quickly intensified and caused EF2 damage near the intersection of Caraway Rd. and Race St. The tornado weakened slightly, but produced EF2 damage again at the Mall at Turtle Creek. The tornado reached its most intense stage as it approached and moved across the Jonesboro Airport. Several large industrial buildings were severely damaged. As the tornado moved through residential areas northeast of the airport, it caused EF2 to isolated EF3 damage to homes. The tornado began weakening after it crossed Highway 49 northeast of Jonesboro, with the final damage observed to the northeast of Brookland. Peak winds were estimated at 150 mph.

A low pressure system moved across the midwest with a trailing cold front stretched south into Arkansas. As the cold front tracked eastward storms developed across central and eastern Arkansas during the late afternoon of March 28, 2020. Increasing instability combined with a good deal of wind shear led to the development of supercells across eastern Arkansas along with a strong tornado near Jonesboro, Arkansas, and another weaker tornado in Greene County, Arkansas. Supercells eventually formed into a line along the Mississippi River and then moved across the remainder of the Mid-South producing wind damage and large hail.