The April 27, 2011 tornado

EF5Monroe, Itawamba, Marion and Franklin counties, Alabama and Mississippi

An EF5 tornado on a 37.3-mile path that killed 23 and injured 137. It was one of 210 tornadoes recorded in the U.S. that day, 35 of them rated F3/EF3 or stronger.

Watch how it happened Part of the outbreak of April 27, 2011: 210 tornadoes in 16 states

EF5 tornado · April 27, 2011

How it happened

Follow the tornado’s path, minute by minute.

About this replay

Local time (CST)—Historical replay — logged times

Distance—of 37.3 miles

Now in—

RatingEF5

The tornado

Rating: EF5; Enhanced Fujita scale
Path length: 37.3 mi; Width up to 1,320 yards
Killed: 23; Along the whole path
Injured: 137; Along the whole path
Date and time: Wednesday, April 27, 2011; 2:42 PM CST
That day: 210; tornadoes in the U.S.; every one, with a replay of the day

The National Weather Service account

Written by the local Weather Service office after its damage survey.

After lifting for 4 miles, a violent EF-5 tornado touched back down southwest of Smithville and moved northeast. The town of Smithville was almost completely destroyed by the tornado. Homes and businesses were completely wiped off of their foundations. The town hall, post office, police station, and four churches were destroyed. All appliances and plumbing fixtures in the direct path of the tornado were shredded or missing. Granite tombstones were knocked down in the opposite direction of the tornado passage. A ford explorer that was parked a half mile away from the town's water tower was picked up by the tornado and thrown into the top of the water tower. The vehicle was then thrown an additional few hundred feet. In total, 117 structures were destroyed with an additional 50 structures sustaining major damage. Numerous other structures sustained minor damage. Trees were debarked, twisted, and snapped. Power lines were knocked down and the town's water system was destroyed. A lot of the homes that were destroyed were well built, bolted to their foundations and were less than 10 years old. A total of 16 fatalities occurred from the tornado. Thirty-seven injuries occurred as well. The tornado continued northeast after destroying Smithville and crossed into Itawamba County, Mississippi.

The storm system that day

A stationary front remained draped across Southern Missouri into Western Kentucky from April 24th, 2011 into April 25th, 2011. A very warm and unstable atmosphere was in place across the Mid-South ahead of the front. A low pressure system developed along the front and interacted with the unstable environment which helped produce several rounds of severe storms into the evening of April 26th, 2011. As a result of the severe storms, the front sank south during the early morning hours of April 27th, 2011 as a secondary low pressure system developed along the front. As a result, another round of severe storms fired during the afternoon hours ahead of the low pressure center. Additional severe storms fired along the trailing cold front. Tornadoes, large hail, damaging winds, flash flooding occurred as a result of the severe storms.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

Counties on its path

Other notable tornadoes that day

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database. Path drawn as a straight line from the recorded start to end point.