Such a storm has the capacity to collapse a concrete building. The tornado then crossed the county line and weakened to EF2 strength, where it snapped and uprooted numerous large trees, damaged or destroyed several chicken houses, totaled a car, destroyed a mobile home, tore much of the roof off of a two-story house, and caused significant roof damage to several other homes before dissipating near the town of Hodges at 4:23p.m. CDT (2123 UTC). * LOCATION/TIME OF EVENT: SMITHVILLE AT 344 PM CDT ON APRIL 27 2011 * BEGINNING POINT: 34.0455, -88.44497 * ENDING POINT: 34.3129, -87.9231 * RATING: EF-5 * ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 205 MPH With the storm just 30 seconds away, he yelled for people to come inside and sent them to the sturdiest room. The 2011 Smithville EF5 tornado is one of the strongest tornadoes in recorded history, and this video aims to cover every second of the storm, from genesis to dissipation. So far, 14 people have been. The remains of a Ford Explorer in Smithville, Mississippi. An SUV was thrown a .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}12-mile (0.80km) into the top of the Smithville water tower, then bounced off of it, and was hurled an additional 14-mile (400m) before impacting the ground and eventually coming to rest on the opposite side of the city, where it was later found crushed into a tiny ball. The 2011 Tornado Super Outbreak by contrast, had 362 confirmed tornadoes. And an unshakeable sense of faith. [1] The tornado was a part of the 2011 Super Outbreak, the largest tornado outbreak in United States history. Another sinister aspect to the 2011 Super Outbreak was the repeated rounds of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. The average household size 2.42 and the average family size 3.03. We recognize our responsibility to use data and technology for good. A team led by John Knox at the University of Georgia pored through hundreds of pictures of debris transported downstream by the outbreak's massive tornadoes to map out start and end points of individual pieces of debris. Almost 350 tornadoes tore through the U.S. in a four-day span from April 25-28, 2011. Read the Late April Tornado Outbreak Summary. This marks the first EF5 tornado in Mississippi since the Candlestick Park tornado on May 3, 1966. The 2011 Super Outbreakwas the largest, costliest, and one of the deadliest tornado outbreaksever recorded, taking place in the Southern, Midwestern, and NortheasternUnited Statesfrom April 25 to 28, 2011, leaving catastrophic destruction in its wake. "I've looked through my own databases of tornado cases over the past decade, and can't find any tornado environment that even approaches this one," Davies wrote. The worst storms finally pushed out of the Mid-South by 5:30 pm on April 27th. His mother, just out of the shower, was covered in a quilt. At this point, 12 of the tornadoes were violent (EF4, EF5) with most of these having a path length greater than 70 miles. It then moved over Alabama, Georgia, and eventually into North Carolina, generating many additional tornadoes along the way. Please select one of the following: Situational Awareness for Everyone (SAFE) Page, Latest Public Information Statement (PNS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. According to the NWS Memphis, it was 35.1 miles. Each red triangle is the location of a tornado that caused EF5 or F5 damage. As the storm crossed Davis Road South, the ground was deeply scoured in a nearby field, leaving a trench in the ground that was still visible in aerial photographs taken more than a year later. They were the first 5-rated tornadoes there since March 3, 1966. (WCBI) - It's been almost one week since an EF 4 tornado claimed the lives of 23 people in Lee County, Alabama. An oak tree fell next to it and anchored the house, keeping the wind from hauling Mrs. Boyd and her home away. Nearby towns have jumped in to help, setting up shelters, serving hamburgers, sending in clothes. National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed a long track violent tornado which initially touched down in Monroe County, Mississippi, southwest of the town of Smithville where it caused damage associated with an EF5 rating. His best friend held the 2-year-old. The radar was replaced later in 2011 and the church reopened in a new location. NOAA Weather Radio Haley Barbour stopped by Smithville, which is in the northeast corner of the state, to offer assurances that more help was on the way. The other violent tornado to impact the Jackson, MS forecast area occurred across Smith, Jasper, and Clarke Counties. Overall, the tornado destroyed 117 structures in Smithville and damaged 50 others, killing 16 people. You cant question the Lord. This storm produced 4 tornadoes over Craighead county. Then it was gone., I have been through cancer four times, she said. While the Deep South - Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee - bore the brunt of it, tornadoes were reported as far north as central New York. Map of tornado tracks from the April 25-28, 2011 Super Outbreak, color-coded by intensity (EF0: aqua; EF1: light green; EF2: yellow; EF3: orange; EF4: red; EF5: pink). A comprehensive study of lofted tornado debris in 2012 from the April 27, 2011, Super Outbreak was the first such study to utilize social media. It was considered the Wal-Mart of Smithville, she said. The wind shear that was caused by the increasing winds aloft, and turning of the winds from south to westerly, was at rare levels for late April. Tornado Database April 27, 2011, likely remains the deadliest day for tornadoes in the last 85 years. The atmosphere reloaded quickly Wednesday morning and became increasingly favorable for more severe storms. Fire Weather CoCoRaHS Multiple episodes of tornadic activity ensued with two waves of mesoscale convective systems in the morning hours followed by a widespread outbreak of supercells from Mississippi to North Carolina during the afternoon into the evening. (Credit: @JamesSt03713090 / Twitter) Recommended Stories Sacramento Bee How much rain and snow fell in. The tornado moved northeast through Itawamba County before it crossed into . Submit a Storm Report How Winter Fashion Has Changed in 100 Years (PHOTOS), Eerie Vintage Photos of People Battling the Flu, Democratic Republic of the Congo | Franais, State of Vatican City (Holy See) | Italiano, deadliest tornado since the Moore, Oklahoma, EF5 tornado. After extensive personal research, this video provides one of the most comprehensive documentations possible, utilising dozens of photos, video, eyewitness accounts and professional analyses. In roughly 90 minutes, the EF4 tornado claimed 65 lives along an 80-mile path from Greene County, Alabama, through Tuscaloosa into the northern suburbs of Birmingham. Between April 25 and 28, hundreds of tornadoes violently struck the southeastern United States, resulting in roughly $12billion in damages (2021 dollars) and leaving an estimated 321 people dead. to near Shottsville, AL, From CR 253 south of Tomnolen is Warren County, MS to near HWY 278 northeast of New Wren, CR 378 northwest of Water Valley to CR 273 east of Oxford, CR 864 southwest of Belmont to CR 993 northeast of Belmont, Red Sulphur Road south of Counce to Blue Herron Point near Lake Pickwick, 2 miles south of Bowman, AR along CR 683 to State HWY 18 in Bowman, AR, 4.5 miles northeast of Martin, TN to 2.6 miles southwest of Lynnville, KY, Money Rd southwest of Philipp, MS to Mudline Rd Northwest of Oakland, MS, About 1/4 mile west of CR 253 to CR 254 near the Alcorn/Tippah county line, 1 mile north of Elaine, AR along HWY 44 to one mile east of HWY 61 near Lula, MS, Endville Rd in Endville, MS to CR 3 northeast of Endville, MS, Intersection of Googe St and CR 448 east of Rienzi, MS to near CR 430 northeast of Rienzi, MS, 5 miles south of Jonesboro on either side of HWY 1, 2 miles northeast of Black Oak, AR along CR 513 to 1 mile southwest of Monette, AR along CR 506, Began near the shore of Sardis Lake and ended over the lake, Near Lyles Rd south of Looxahoma, MS to just south of Looxahoma-Tyro Rd east of Looxahoma, MS, From Holmes RD north of HWY 20 in Henderson County to Pecan Tree RD in Natchez Trace State Park north of I-40, From Sweet Lips RD south of Jacks Creek to Roby Road south of HWY 100, From HWY 138 southeast of Cloverport to Teague Road near the town of Toone. CURRENT HAZARDS Alone, the state accounted for 69 of the tornadoes and fell victim to the events costliest tornado. Corrected coordinates based on ground level, aerial, and satellite imagery, as well as all reliable damage reports: Start: 34.023601/-88.481982 End: 34.326527 /-87.886584, In Smithville, MSBetty Newkirk, 78Celia Jackson, 92 (oldest victim)Courtney Easter, 21Elvin Patterson, 80Jean Manley, 70Hazel Noe, 80 (died of injuries 6 days later)Jesse Cox, 84Jessica Pace, 18 (youngest victim in MS)Carla Jones, 37 (died protecting her niece, nephew and son)Laverne Patterson, 77Lucille Parker, 86Maxine Chism, 79 (died of injures 22 days later)Mildred Elam, 79RoyEstes, 63 (died of injures the next day)RuthEstes, 61Scott Morris, 41, In AlabamaRodney Ables, 51Michelle Brown, 43Tammy Johnson, 52Jacob Ray, 5 (youngest victim)Virginia Revis, 53Allan Wideman, 49 (died of injuries 9 days later)Jeanette Wideman, 52. The Super Outbreak and several other tornado outbreaks pushed April 2011's U.S. tornado count to a monthly record of 758, smashing the previous record in any month from May 2003 (542) by over 200 tornadoes. A total of 303 tornado warnings were issued by the six most-affected National Weather Service Forecast offices on April 27, 2011, alone. Despite the deadly toll, we'll never truly know how many lives were saved by timely National Weather Service warnings, and the considerable effort of the media to communicate those warnings. Cordova, Alabama, northwest of Birmingham, was just one unfortunate example. [4] Another 50tornadoes touched down on this day. April 27, 2011, likely remains the "deadliest day for tornadoes" in the last 85 years. Here are the original stats from the SPC. Tornado in Smithville, MS, 4/27/2011 (Motion-tracked) 1,219 views Jan 7, 2022 27 Dislike Share Save Tornado Video Library 272 subscribers Rating: EF5 Max wind: 205 mph Casualties: 23. Questions or comments about this summary? Nationwide Spot Forecast Request This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM. On Friday, some returned to their homes to salvage what they could, but many did not know where to start or what to pick up first: a shattered picture frame with a wedding photo, an artificial flower arrangement, a dirty pink teddy bear. Smithville, a spot of a town of about 1,000 where first names suffice and Bibles lie within reach, endured a direct hit from Wednesdays tornado in Mississippi. Two power plants were forced to shut down, including the TVA's Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant near Decatur, Alabama. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990", "SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Monroe County, MS", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Smithville,_Mississippi&oldid=1125458307, This page was last edited on 4 December 2022, at 03:08. Making his way out of the rubble immediately after the storm, C. J. found two of them dead. In all, a total of 22 tornadoes were confirmed across the Mid-South over this 3 day outbreak. NWS Since 1950, 59 tornadoes have been rated EF5/F5, an average of less than one per year, according to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. I felt the house swirling around, she said. Ruth Estis, who was blind and elderly, was pried from the arms of her husband, Roy Lee Estis, and carried away. The driving force for the 3rd event was a potent shortwave and deep surface low that intensified during the day Wednesday. According to the National Weather Service assessment, the average path length of the 15 violent tornadoes was 66 miles. National Weather Service Before sharing sensitive information, make sure youre on a federal government site. When Darwin Hathcock, the police chief, saw the funnel cloud beyond the tree line just a couple of miles away, he knew that his town would not be spared. Four of those were in the April 27 Super Outbreak in Alabama and Mississippi. A second semi-truck was completely torn apart, with its bumper later found hanging from the struts of the Smithville water tower, located 1.4-mile (2.3km) to the northeast. The second examines the portion in Alabama, which principally affected the communities of Shottsville and Hodges. Continuing northeast, the tornado re-intensified as it struck the rural community of Shottsville at high-end EF3 intensity, where homes and mobile homes were destroyed, hundreds of trees were snapped and debarked, and seven more people were killed. The total of 362 tornadoes that spawned during this four-day period not only surpassed the previous record for all of April by nearly 100, but also accounted for almost half of the 751 confirmed tornadoes during the month. Outlook A protruding anchor bolt from slab with base plate ripped away is shown among the rubble of a destroyed home in Smithville, Mississippi, following an EF5 tornado on April 27, 2011. There were 365 households, out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.4% were non-families. Radar These power lines west of Huntsville, Alabama, were destroyed by an EF5 tornado on April 27, 2011. Infrared satellite loop from April 27-28, 2011, showing the tornado outbreak across the South and East. Fourteen of the towns other businesses also collapsed; only two survived mostly in one piece, a gas station and an appliance shop. The April 25-28, 2011, Super Outbreak was one of the worst tornado outbreaks in U.S. history. Boasting wind speeds of approximately 205 mph, this tornado destroyed 18 homes and resulted in over a dozen deaths. Spot Forecast Request Meteorologist and researcher Jon Davies blogged about the rarity of seeing such extreme values of shear and unstable air. Tornado is spotted moving through Smithville, Mississippi on Thursday as sirens wail. Of those 21, 11 were rated as strong (EF2, EF3) tornadoes and had fairly long path lengths. Northern Lights Dance Over National Park In Alaska, New York City Sees First Inch-Plus Snowfall Of The Season, Cold Or Flu? Surface Observations The NWS-Huntsville, Alabama office issued 90 tornado warnings, alone that day. Northeast of Philadelphia, Mississippi, a swath of ground was scoured out to a depth of two feet, in some places. The damage path was 37.3 miles (60.0km) long and 34 mile (1.2km) wide at its widest point, and it killed a total of 23 people along its path. Why? Please see their terms and conditions. Graphical Several other vehicles in town were thrown hundreds of yards, torn into multiple pieces, stripped down to their frames, or wrapped around trees as well. [2], After producing a long-tracked EF3 tornado that passed near New Wren, the same supercell produced this tornado that began 3 miles (4.8km) west-southwest of Smithville along the TennesseeTombigbee Waterway near the Glover Wilkins Lock at 3:42p.m. CDT (2042 UTC), snapping numerous trees near the Smithville Recreation Area. And then they hurtled through the air, holding each other, and landed 30 feet from the police station, battered, bloody but mostly intact, the doorknob still in Joshuas hand. Briefing Page The town is named for William Smith, an early settler who established a store at the site around 1840. Mr. Hathcock, 48, and his 24-year-old son, Joshua, were hunched in a bathroom when the tornado arrived. County: Monroe, Itawamba (MS)/ Marion, Franklin (AL), SPC Coordinates: Start: 34.0455/-88.4450 End: 34.3226/-87.8924. Smithville is located at 3447N 882344W / 34.06861N 88.39556W / 34.06861; -88.39556 (34.068605, -88.395486). (Photo by Carmen K. 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