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Super Outbreak of 2011 Recap
April 27, 2021 at 05:57 PM EDT
By WeatherBug's Doug Kahn
Ten years ago this week, one of the deadliest, costliest, and largest tornado outbreaks occurred in the eastern half of the U.S. Nearly 400 tornadoes were reported from April 25-28, 2011, killing more than 300 and injuring more than 2,000 people as well as causing more than $11 billion in damages.
April 27th was arguably what defined this “Super Outbreak,” as the storm system spawned an astonishing four EF-5 tornadoes, devastating parts of Mississippi and Alabama. An EF-5 tornado produces almost total building destruction in its path as wind speeds exceed 200 mph. Not to be outdone, nearly 200 hail and more than 400 wind events were also reported. To put this in perspective, there had only been two other EF-5 tornadoes in the U.S. since the scale’s implementation in 2007; one on May 4th, 2007, in Greensburg, Kansas, and the other on May 25th, 2008 in Parkersburg, Iowa.
Nearly all of the deaths from this outbreak can be attributed to this one day. There were two rounds of storms that impacted parts of the Deep South on April 27th. The first consisted of a line of storms which rolled east across Mississippi and Alabama in the morning hours. These storms dropped a few tornadoes, but nothing that pales in comparison to what happened later in the day.
The second round of storms sought to be much more vicious than their early-morning counterparts. Multiple supercells formed throughout parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee in the afternoon, spawning violent tornadoes that scarred tens of miles of landscape. These destructive storms lasted well into the evening and nighttime hours, making the tornadoes even more dangerous.
The combination of strong tornadoes and unfortunate timing led to an unprecedented amount of injuries and deaths, ultimately changing how meteorologists communicate risk and accuracy with the public through social media weather awareness campaigns. We have greatly learned from the events of the Super Outbreak of 2011, and although more tornado outbreaks will occur, through increased communication, hopefully none will be as deadly as this.
Credit Photo - NASA
April 27th was arguably what defined this “Super Outbreak,” as the storm system spawned an astonishing four EF-5 tornadoes, devastating parts of Mississippi and Alabama. An EF-5 tornado produces almost total building destruction in its path as wind speeds exceed 200 mph. Not to be outdone, nearly 200 hail and more than 400 wind events were also reported. To put this in perspective, there had only been two other EF-5 tornadoes in the U.S. since the scale’s implementation in 2007; one on May 4th, 2007, in Greensburg, Kansas, and the other on May 25th, 2008 in Parkersburg, Iowa.
Nearly all of the deaths from this outbreak can be attributed to this one day. There were two rounds of storms that impacted parts of the Deep South on April 27th. The first consisted of a line of storms which rolled east across Mississippi and Alabama in the morning hours. These storms dropped a few tornadoes, but nothing that pales in comparison to what happened later in the day.
The second round of storms sought to be much more vicious than their early-morning counterparts. Multiple supercells formed throughout parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee in the afternoon, spawning violent tornadoes that scarred tens of miles of landscape. These destructive storms lasted well into the evening and nighttime hours, making the tornadoes even more dangerous.
The combination of strong tornadoes and unfortunate timing led to an unprecedented amount of injuries and deaths, ultimately changing how meteorologists communicate risk and accuracy with the public through social media weather awareness campaigns. We have greatly learned from the events of the Super Outbreak of 2011, and although more tornado outbreaks will occur, through increased communication, hopefully none will be as deadly as this.
Credit Photo - NASA