The tornado outbreak of April 8-9, 2021 was a tornado outbreak that occurred over the southern plains and western Dixie Alley of the United States between the late night hours of April 8th and throughout all of April 9th. There were over 160 reported tornadoes, with 121 of those being confirmed by the National Weather Service. The most effected parts of the United States during the outbreak were situated in southern Arkansas, southeastern Oklahoma, northern Texas, and northern Louisiana. This system would eventually bring heavy flash flooding to parts of Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland, and many northern states would experience strong thunderstorms and large hail. Ultimately, this tornado sequence would break multiple records, most notable an eight year drought of tornadoes being rated EF5, the highest rating on the Enhanced Fujita scale.
Meteorological Synopsis []
Over the course of the following weeks, an extended jet stream had been present over much of the central plains and Tennessee Valley. By April 8th, a low pressure trough had situated itself over the southern-central plains, specifically in northern Texas. Extreme wind shear was present over Louisiana and Texas, as well as an unusually strong low level jet. CAPE values extended past 4000 J/kg in much of southern Arkansas and Oklahoma. Surface temperatures in southern Arkansas were well into the mid 80s and dew points across the four state region were well past 60 °F (16 °C), and in many places extended to 72 °F (22 °C). These highly favorable conditions created an extremely volatile atmosphere conducive for the formation of several strong, long tracked tornadoes. This threat prompted the Storm Prediction Center to issue a rare 30% High Risk warning for most of southern Arkansas, southwestern Oklahoma and northern Texas, including the Dallas metro.
Confirmed Tornadoes[]
| Confirmed Total |
Confirmed EF0 |
Confirmed EF1 |
Confirmed EF2 |
Confirmed EF3 |
Confirmed EF4 |
Confirmed EF5 |
| 121 | 54 | 36 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 1 |
Notable Tornadoes[]
Midland/Stanton, Texas[]
The first violent tornado of the outbreak touched down 1 mile south of Midland, Texas. It struck during the late night hours on April 8th, 2021 and would be one of the costliest tornadoes of the outbreak, causing just shy of $100 million dollars worth of damage in the Midland suburbs and in the town of Stanton. This tornado would track for over 15 miles, and at some points, was over a mile wide. This storm would fortunately result in no fatalities, however, over 30 injuries would result from this tornado. The tornado was on the ground for 28 minutes and prompted the National Weather Service to issue a Tornado Emergency for Midland and Stanton.
Mount Vernon, Texas[]
During the late morning hours on April 9th, the first devastating tornado of the outbreak occurred near Mount Vernon, Texas. This long tracked EF4 was on the ground for over 40 miles and was nearly a mile wide at max width. This tornado would sweep many well built and anchored homes clean and cause extensive tree debarking and ground scouring at peak intensity. This tornado would ultimately take the lives of 17 people and injure over 100. This tornado was on the ground for almost an hour and was the worst tornado to hit the state of Texas since an EF4 struck the town of Canton on April 29th, 2017. The Mount Vernon EF4 was a sign of what was to come, specifically for southern Arkansas, who would receive the blunt of the tornadic damage.
Nashville, Arkansas[]
This large stovepipe tornado touched down at 2:49 PM (CST), just a mile north-northwest of the Wilton community. The tornado would follow a very prominent northeastern track as it made its way towards the town of Nashville. At 3:17, the tornado struck south Nashville, leveling or severely damaging a Pizza Hut, a Western Sizzlin, a Walmart Connection Center, a Husqvarna factory, a Tyson packaging plant and multiple houses. The damages to the Tyson packaging plant and the Husqvarna factory were catastrophic to Nashville's local economy and would ultimately cost in excess of $100 million dollars in damage. The violent EF4 would be one of the worst in the state's history, claiming the lives of 18 and injuring 87. It followed a track of over 32 miles long and had a maximum width of half a mile. This tornado would prompt the National Weather Service to issue a rare Tornado Emergency for the town of Nashville. Because this tornado was apart of a widely anticipated outbreak and occurred in favorable lightning conditions, footage of the twister made national headlines and was the number one trending tag on the social media site Twitter. It would, however, be overshadowed by the EF5 tornado that would strike the town of Rison, Arkansas less than two hours later.
Rison, Arkansas[]
The most violent tornado of the outbreak and the most violent tornado since the Moore EF5 in 2013 would touchdown at 4:47 near County Road 8, just 7 miles northwest of the town of Fordyce. The tornado intensified rapidly and by 5:00 PM (CST), was nearing the unincorporated community of Ivan, along Arkansas Highway 167. At 5:03 PM, the massive EF5 wedge hit the community of Ivan, effectively wiping it off the map. The Calvary Baptist Church, the Ivan post office and the few homes in the community were all wiped off of their foundations, indicating that EF4/5 winds were over a half mile wide. The area around Ivan and across Highway 167 towards Rison saw some of the most extensive tree debarking ever recorded. The tornado continued over open farmlands until striking the town of Rison. At 5:19, the EF5 wedge struck the town of Rison. Damage in the town was among the worst ever recorded as over 90% of Rison suffered severe damage or was stripped down to the foundation. The tornado first struck a Dollar General, where part of the concrete foundation was found to be cracked and pulled out of the ground. The tornado continued onto a small subdivision where severe granulation and wind rowing of debris was recorded, and the upheaval and cracking of many concrete foundations. The tornado crossed a set of railroad tracks where sections of rail were found to be ripped off from the wooden railroad ties. cycloidal marks were found in the track ballast, indicating the presence of several, incredibly violent subvortices. The tornado continued into the downtown, leveling multiple churches, rows of houses, a court house, a funeral home, and a steel reinforced bank. The damage to the court house and the bank indicated wind speeds well in excess of 200 mph, prompting the National Weather Service to rate the tornado with a first ever 220 MPH rating. The tornado continued past Rison where extensive debarking of trees was found. The tornado came dangerously close to Woodlawn, however, only EF2 damage was located in the town. After crossing county road 530, the tornado dissipated, just 12 miles south of the heavily populated city of Pine Bluff. A tornado emergency was declared for the towns of Rison and Woodlawn and for the city of Pine Bluff. This tornado ended the 8 year drought of EF5 rated storms and proved to be one of the strongest on record. The storm was unique for its rapid intensification and long track of violent (EF4+) damage. The tornado would track for only 37 miles, but more than half of that was spent at EF4+ strength. The effects of the outbreak and this tornado caused a significant push by the government to mandate that all new housing must either have a basement, tornado shelter or a concrete and steel reinforced interior closet. The mandate also included requirements for greener houses, with one such requirement being extra padding along exterior walls to better protect the house from strong winds, but would also serve to trap heat, reducing wasted energy. The communities of Rison and Ivan followed two highly different paths after the tornado. The town of Rison rebuilt and became one of the few cities in America to be completely sustainable and energy efficient. Ivan, however, would become a ghost town with no permanent residents following 2023.
Malvern/East End, Arkansas[]
As the Rison EF5 was churning away, another violent tornado was brewing. To the north, a new supercell began to produce significant rotation and by 5:06, a tornado was observed two miles to the northeast of Delight. The tornado remained relatively weak for much of its life. Around 5:45, the tornado crossed Lake DeGray, severely damaging or overturning hundreds of boats docked in the marina. The tornado continued producing EF1 to EF2 level damage for the first 25 miles of its path. By 5:57, the tornado had strengthened considerable after the dissipation of its much larger and stronger cousin to the south. It was at this time where the tornado cross Interstate 30 where a family of four was killed after having their car tossed over a quarter mile. Multiple semi trucks were also tossed several hundred yards and multiple injuries were recorded along I-30. As it passed Midway Road, a small road that parallels I-30, the tornado caused considerable damage to the Saginaw Church. Extensive tree debarking and denuding was observed as the tornado crossed the Ouachita River. The tornado, now indicating EF3 level winds, passed just to the north of the Hot Springs Entergy power plant. The tornado barreled towards Malvern, and began to impact multiple residential areas as it crossed County Highway 67 and Mount Zion Road. The now high end EF3-low end EF4 leveled a mini storage facility, an auto repair shop and dozens of houses as it entered Malvern. The tornado slightly weakened as it began churning away at a large residential neighborhood in south Malvern, just a mile south of the high school. After crossing Sulphur Springs Road, the tornado began to regain strength, indicating low end EF4 damage. The tornado passed over a large quarry outside of Malvern, where it would toss heavy machinery over a quarter mile. The tornado passed just to the south of Gifford, and crossed over thousands of acres of forest. The tornado continued on to the community of Tull, causing considerable damage to the southern part of the community, including the Tull Fire Department. High end EF4 damage was observed in the community with wind speeds of the tornado estimated at 190 MPH. The tornado continued its northeastern track towards the small Mars Hill neighborhood, causing EF2 level damage. The tornado continued to southern Sardis, causing continued EF2 damage. The tornado continued to produce EF2 levels of tree damage. At 6:40, the tornado plowed into the town of East End, causing mid to high end EF4 damage as the storm began to die. The East End intermediate School received significant damage as it sustained a direct hit. The tornado would plow through multiple rows of houses, including some with properly bolted foundations. The tornado weakened significantly as it began to approach I-530, and dissipated just a mile and a half east of I-530.
Crossett, Arkansas[]
This heavily rain wrapped EF3 wedge tornado began its life to the north of Highway 82, outside of Crossett. The tornado remained relatively weak and small for much of its 13 mile life. The tornado passed into North Crossett, causing EF1 to EF2 level damage as it uprooted trees and ripped off roofs from dozens of houses. The tornado passed just hundreds of yards to the north of the Crossett Municipal Airport, however, no damage was reported at the airport. The tornado continued over dense forest, where many were either uprooted or debarked. The tornado reached peak strength as it grew to over a mile wide and EF3 intensity as it crossed County Road 17, where a man and his son were killed. Shortly after crossing the road, the tornado weakened significantly and dissipated a quarter mile to the southwest of Hamburg High School.
Helena-West Helena, Arkansas/Tunica, Mississippi[]
After the southern lead supercell produced the Rison EF5, the trailing supercell began to show significant rotation. After dropping multiple tornadoes throughout most of its life, including an EF2 that struck the area north of Warren, this supercell began to produce a new wall cloud. With a restructured mesocyclone, a funnel cloud was reported 10 miles north of Dumas, AR. Around 6:15, a tornado was reported 5 miles southeast of DeWitt, near the community of Ethel. The tornado began a process of rapid intensification and growth, and within 5 miles of its track, was producing extensive ground scouring. This tornado spent most of its life over open farmland, however, by 6:40, was approaching the river town of West Helena. Around 6:50, the large and violent tornado struck the southern edge of the town, causing considerable damage. Immediately after crossing the Mississippi River, the tornado directly hit the Isle of Capri Casino Hotel. Damage to the casino complex was extensive and multiple well constructed buildings were completely destroyed with nothing but littered foundations remaining. The hotel's top floors collapsed under the high winds and much of the hotel was shifted along the foundation. Damage to the complex was ultimately rated 200 MPH, contrary to the damage assessments of multiple survey teams. The tornado continued over rural farmland as it passed into Mississippi. As the storm passed over Highway 3, it ripped considerable sections of pavement up. The tornado continued over rural farmland, debarking and denuding thousands of trees. The tornado dissipated just southeast of the Arkabutla community. The tornado was highly controversial for its rating, as many meteorologists and damage assessors believed the tornado to harbor surface winds much stronger than that of 200 MPH due to the damage to the casino hotel, extreme ground scouring and the extreme damage to many paved roads. A local Doppler on Wheels recorded near surface winds in excess of 290 MPH, further adding to the controversial rating. This tornado is considered by many to be the strongest of the outbreak, even surpassing the EF5 rated twister that decimated the town of Rison. The DOW wind recording ranks it among the fastest wind speeds ever recorded, only surpassed by the 1999 Bridge Creek - Moore tornado and the 2013 El Reno tornado.
Kirby/Hot Springs, Arkansas[]
As the severe tornadic action shifted east towards Mississippi and Tennessee, a new tornadic cell fired up along the dry line in Oklahoma. By 6:29, the cell began to show radar indicated rotation and by 6:35, a tornado was confirmed 3 miles to the southwest of Kirby. Around 6:44, the EF1 damaging tornado hit the southside of Kirby, causing roof damage to the Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church and the Kirby High School. The tornado would continue through timberland, where it would damage poultry farms and Weyerhaeuser timberland. Tree damage would intensify over the following miles, and extensive damage was found to the Baker Poultry Farm. The tornado would continue for many miles through open farm and timberlands until impacting the Bonnerdale Seventh Day Adventist Church, where the roof and most exterior walls were collapsed, indicating EF3 windspeeds. The tornado tracked for nearly 30 miles over timberlands and poultry farms before impacting the town of Lake Hamilton. EF2 damage was observed in Lake Hamilton where houses lost large sections of roofing and a mobile home park was completely demolished. The tornado crossed the Ouachita River and caused EF1 damage to northern Hot Springs. Dozens of houses had their roofs severely damaged and hundreds of trees in the city were uprooted. After passing through Hot Springs National Park, the tornado, now likely at EF0 or EF1 intensity, continued through the Ouachita Mountains. The twister dissipated 4 miles north of the Crows community after tracking for more than 60 miles. The tornado was on the ground for over an hour and damaged millions of Weyerhaeuser owned trees.
Dyersburg, Tennessee[]
As the supercells tracked across southern and central Arkansas, a PDS was issued for eastern Tennessee. Around 8:40 PM CST, a Tornado Warning was issued for Blytheville, AR and Dyersburg, TN. Significant rotation was present as the storm passed over Blytheville, however, no damage was recorded. Local storm spotters reported the tornado just 7 miles southwest of Dyersburg. Around 9:05 PM, the tornado slammed into the town of 16,000 and immediately leveled several large neighborhoods. The tornado continued into downtown Dyersburg, where multiple retail stores, autoparts stores and restaurants were extensively damaged. The tornado then crossed I-155/U.S. Highway 412 where it tossed dozens of cars and semi trucks over a mile. The tornado continued along Highway 412 where it leveled multiple warehouse buildings. It then again crossed over the highway again, where it would proceed to sweep a small neighborhood. The tornado then entered the town of Newbern, where hundreds of houses were leveled. The tornado crossed Main Street where a well built funeral home was demolished. The tornado continued over Newbern Fabricating where extensive damage was observed. Wind rowing of debris was among the worst ever recorded in Dyersburg and Newbern. The tornado then began tracking over open farmland, grazing the town of Kenton, where EF2 level damage was observed on the northern part of the town. The tornado continued to track over open farmland and began to die as it neared the towns of Martin and Dresden. Around 10:00 PM, the tornado dissipated three miles southeast of Martin and 4 miles northwest of Dresden. The governor of Tennessee, Bill Lee, declared Dyer County a disaster area and deployed the Tennessee National Guard to assist in the rescue efforts.
Little Rock, Arkansas[]
At 10:05, the tornado touched down in the Westbrook neighborhood district in southwest Little Rock. The tornado tracked through thousands of homes, causing considerable roof damage and uprooting several trees. The tornado crossed I-630 and began to strengthen as it took aim for West Markham Street. The Park Plaza Mall took considerable damage with most of its windows and lights destroyed. A condominium took a direct hit as the tornado broke hundreds of windows. The tornado continued over University Avenue, passing just to the south of St. Vincent's Surgery Clinic. The tornado continued through thousands of poorly built homes, causing significant roof damage and even the collapse of weak exterior walls. The tornado passed over Kavanaugh Boulevard and the Hillcrest Apartments. The tornado caused high end EF1 damage along Kavanaugh Boulevard, Cantrell Road and the Country Club of Little Rock. The tornado crossed the Arkansas River where it began to show a restrengthening period. EF2 damage was observed at Pulaski Technical College and many businesses and houses suffered significant roof damage on the other side of Interstate 40. The tornado continued into North Little Rock, causing EF0 and EF1 comparable damage before finally dissipating around 10:22. This tornado, ironically, would be the costliest of the outbreak, despite the fact that 14 EF3+ tornadoes would touchdown between April 8th and 9th. Causing almost $1.3 billion dollars in damage, this tornado became the 8th costliest in history, surpassing the 1970 Lubbock, Texas F5, the 2013 Washington, Illinois EF4, and the 1975 Omaha, Nebraska F4.