On February 24, the Storm Prediction Center issued an enhanced risk of severe weather across much of the Lower Mississippi River Valley.
This included a 10% hatched risk area for tornadoes.
A mixed convective mode was predicted, with both bowing line segments and discrete supercell thunderstorms expected to develop in the threat area.
Throughout the event, the development of isolated supcercell thunderstorms that was expected did not occur.
However, a large quasi-linear convective system developed, and numerous semi-discrete supercell structures and embedded mesovortices within the larger line of severe storms produced a moderate outbreak of tornadoes.
While most of these tornadoes were relatively brief, several of them were strong, resulting in major damage and fatalities.
A high-end EF2 tornado near Adairville, Kentucky destroyed several homes and barns and killed an elderly woman, ending a record 283-day streak without any tornado-related deaths.
Another high-end EF2 struck the southeast side of Hopkinsville, severely damaging multiple two-story apartment buildings and injuring nine people.
An EF1 tornado caused roof damage to many homes and businesses in Murray as well.
In Arkansas, an EF1 tornado caused moderate damage to many structures in the town of Keiser and blew much of the roof off of a hotel near Osceola.
An EF2 tornado near Knobel killed one person when a mobile home was thrown into a pond.
The same tornado later crossed into Missouri and struck the town of Malden, where numerous homes were heavily damaged and several people were injured.
Also in Missouri, several homes in the town of Matthews had their roofs ripped off as the result of an EF2 tornado.
Another EF2 tornado touched down in the eastern part of Clarksville, Tennessee as well, where several homes and duplexes were damaged or destroyed, and many vehicles and a few buildings were damaged at an industrial complex.
A total of 30 tornadoes were confirmed as a result of this outbreak, which resulted in two fatalities and at least 20 injuries.
On February 24, the Storm Prediction Center issued an enhanced risk of severe weather across much of the Lower Mississippi River Valley. This included a 10% hatched risk area for tornadoes. A mixed convective mode was predicted, with both bowing line segments and discrete supercell thunderstorms expected to develop in the threat area. Throughout the event, the development of isolated supcercell thunderstorms that was expected did not occur. However, a large quasi-linear convective system developed, and numerous semi-discrete supercell structures and embedded mesovortices within the larger line of severe storms produced a moderate outbreak of tornadoes. While most of these tornadoes were relatively brief, several of them were strong, resulting in major damage and fatalities. A high-end EF2 tornado near Adairville, Kentucky destroyed several homes and barns and killed an elderly woman, ending a record 283-day streak without any tornado-related deaths. Another high-end EF2 struck the southeast side of Hopkinsville, severely damaging multiple two-story apartment buildings and injuring nine people. An EF1 tornado caused roof damage to many homes and businesses in Murray as well. In Arkansas, an EF1 tornado caused moderate damage to many structures in the town of Keiser and blew much of the roof off of a hotel near Osceola. An EF2 tornado near Knobel killed one person when a mobile home was thrown into a pond. The same tornado later crossed into Missouri and struck the town of Malden, where numerous homes were heavily damaged and several people were injured. Also in Missouri, several homes in the town of Matthews had their roofs ripped off as the result of an EF2 tornado. Another EF2 tornado touched down in the eastern part of Clarksville, Tennessee as well, where several homes and duplexes were damaged or destroyed, and many vehicles and a few buildings were damaged at an industrial complex. A total of 30 tornadoes were confirmed as a result of this outbreak, which resulted in two fatalities and at least 20 injuries.
Tornadoes of 2018