On April 8, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) first introduced a risk of severe weather in their day 6 outlook, valid on April 13.
The threat area included the South Plains and the Mid-South from northeastern Texas into southern Missouri, where maturing convection was expected to lead to all modes of severe weather.
Subsequent day 5 and day 4 forecasts maintained this area with little deviation.
In its day 3 outlook on April 11, the SPC issued an Enhanced risk of severe weather for areas betweebfrom northeastern Texas into southwestern Missouri, noting that a supercellular storm mode was likely to produce large hail, damaging winds, and a few tornadoes.
The Enhanced risk was later extended northward into southern Iowa on April 12, and by the following morning, a Moderate risk was issued across far northeastern Texas and northwestern Louisiana onward into central Arkansas.
Several tornadoes, including some strong (EF2+) ones, were expected in the highest risk area.
As a result, the outlook included a 15% hatched risk area for tornadoes.

An outbreak of tornadoes unfolded across the region as an expansive upper-level trough pushed into the Central United States, along with a 100kt jet streak pushing into Oklahoma and Missouri.
A surface area of low pressure tracked from North-Central Kansas toward the Missouri-Iowa state border, supporting a warm front arced across southern Iowa, and a dryline extending from Kansas into Texas.
Within the warm sector of the low, surface dewpoints rose to the mid 60s.
A swath of 850mb winds at or above 50kt persisted underneath an elevated mixed layer, yielding an unstable environment characterized by mean-layer Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) of 1500–2500 J/kg.
Throughout the afternoon, confluent low-level flow caused several discrete thunderstorms to form across Arkansas, where the SPC had issued a Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS) tornado watch.
The most significant supercell of the day developed over LeFlore County, Oklahoma and eventually progressed into Crawford County, Arkansas, where it produced a half-mile-wide EF2 tornado that caused substantial damage in and near Mountainburg.

Into the evening hours of April 13, the low-level jet kept intensified across Arkansas and Louisiana, with 850mb winds topping 60kt.
Meanwhile, a cold front pushed eastward and soon overtook the dryline, forcing discrete thunderstorm activity into a quasi-linear convective system.
With abundant moisture and mean-layer CAPE still on the order of 1,500–2,000 J/kg, the SPC mentioned potential for swaths of damaging winds with isolated embedded tornadoes.
Around 05:10 UTC, an EF1 tornado was developed southwest of Shreveport, Louisiana and progressed directly into the city.
It damaged billboards, trees, and hotels before entering Bossier City; there, several mobile homes were damaged and a shopping center was severely devastated.
After entering Red Chute, the tornado downed a tree onto a travel trailer, causing one fatality inside.
The fatality marked the only tornado-related fatality of the multi-day outbreak.
Into the morning hours of April 14, EF2 tornadoes impacted areas near Portland, Arkansas, Carencro, Louisiana, and in Meridian, Mississippi.
On April 8, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) first introduced a risk of severe weather in their day 6 outlook, valid on April 13. The threat area included the South Plains and the Mid-South from northeastern Texas into southern Missouri, where maturing convection was expected to lead to all modes of severe weather. Subsequent day 5 and day 4 forecasts maintained this area with little deviation. In its day 3 outlook on April 11, the SPC issued an Enhanced risk of severe weather for areas betweebfrom northeastern Texas into southwestern Missouri, noting that a supercellular storm mode was likely to produce large hail, damaging winds, and a few tornadoes. The Enhanced risk was later extended northward into southern Iowa on April 12, and by the following morning, a Moderate risk was issued across far northeastern Texas and northwestern Louisiana onward into central Arkansas. Several tornadoes, including some strong (EF2+) ones, were expected in the highest risk area. As a result, the outlook included a 15% hatched risk area for tornadoes.
An outbreak of tornadoes unfolded across the region as an expansive upper-level trough pushed into the Central United States, along with a 100kt jet streak pushing into Oklahoma and Missouri. A surface area of low pressure tracked from North-Central Kansas toward the Missouri-Iowa state border, supporting a warm front arced across southern Iowa, and a dryline extending from Kansas into Texas. Within the warm sector of the low, surface dewpoints rose to the mid 60s. A swath of 850mb winds at or above 50kt persisted underneath an elevated mixed layer, yielding an unstable environment characterized by mean-layer Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) of 1500–2500 J/kg. Throughout the afternoon, confluent low-level flow caused several discrete thunderstorms to form across Arkansas, where the SPC had issued a Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS) tornado watch. The most significant supercell of the day developed over LeFlore County, Oklahoma and eventually progressed into Crawford County, Arkansas, where it produced a half-mile-wide EF2 tornado that caused substantial damage in and near Mountainburg.
Into the evening hours of April 13, the low-level jet kept intensified across Arkansas and Louisiana, with 850mb winds topping 60kt. Meanwhile, a cold front pushed eastward and soon overtook the dryline, forcing discrete thunderstorm activity into a quasi-linear convective system. With abundant moisture and mean-layer CAPE still on the order of 1,500–2,000 J/kg, the SPC mentioned potential for swaths of damaging winds with isolated embedded tornadoes. Around 05:10 UTC, an EF1 tornado was developed southwest of Shreveport, Louisiana and progressed directly into the city. It damaged billboards, trees, and hotels before entering Bossier City; there, several mobile homes were damaged and a shopping center was severely devastated. After entering Red Chute, the tornado downed a tree onto a travel trailer, causing one fatality inside. The fatality marked the only tornado-related fatality of the multi-day outbreak. Into the morning hours of April 14, EF2 tornadoes impacted areas near Portland, Arkansas, Carencro, Louisiana, and in Meridian, Mississippi.
Tornado outbreak of April 13–15, 2018