Replay · TO20200412
Easter 2020 tornado outbreak: the story
Apr 12, 12:00 UTC – Apr 13, 14:00 UTC. Radar, severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings, storm reports and ground stops, in order, with 1,235 links that show their evidence.
- 869 NWS warnings
- 1,550 storm reports
- 0 FAA airport programs
- 121 surveyed tornado tracks
- 1,235 rule-based links
- 285,814 customers out at the peak, in South Carolina
- 258 radar frames
Chapter 1: First warnings
Apr 12
- NWS Shreveport, LA issues the first Tornado Warning.Replay from here
Chapter 2: Mississippi
Apr 12
- The strongest tornado, an EF4, touches down: a 68 mi track.Replay from here
- NWS Jackson, MS declares a tornado emergency.Replay from here
- NWS Jackson, MS declares a tornado emergency.Replay from here
- NWS Jackson, MS declares a tornado emergency.Replay from here
Chapter 3: Alabama
Apr 12–13
- The largest hail reported: 1.75 in at 1 NE Walnut Grove, AL.Replay from here
Chapter 4: Overnight
Apr 13
- The strongest measured gust: 70 mph at De Witt, AR.Replay from here
- Peak outages: 285,814 customers out of power in South Carolina. The most in one county: Mecklenburg County, NC, 47,013 out (share unknown) at 11:45 UTC.Replay from here
How we link records
| Rule | What it checks | Links |
|---|---|---|
| R4 solid | A storm report inside a warning polygon while it was in effect | 1,177 |
| R6 solid | A surveyed tornado track that began inside a Tornado Warning, with the warning's lead time | 58 |
Solid lines mark rules that passed an independent check; dashed lines are context. Links are rule-based facts: each shows two records that overlap in place and time. How we know
Where this storm's data comes from
Every layer, the provider behind it and the period it covers.
| Layer | Provider | Period | Records |
|---|---|---|---|
| MRMS SeamlessHSR | NOAA/NSSL via Iowa Environmental Mesonet | Apr 12, 12:00 UTC – Apr 13, 14:00 UTC | 258 |
| NWS storm-based warning polygons | NOAA National Weather Service via Iowa Environmental Mesonet | Apr 12, 12:00 UTC – Apr 13, 14:00 UTC | 869 |
| NWS Local Storm Reports | NOAA National Weather Service via Iowa Environmental Mesonet | Apr 12, 12:00 UTC – Apr 13, 14:00 UTC | 1,550 |
| ORNL EAGLE-I | Oak Ridge National Laboratory | Apr 12, 12:00 UTC – Apr 13, 14:00 UTC | 760 |
- Radar: NOAA/NSSL MRMS SeamlessHSR, via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet (IEM), Iowa State University
- Warnings: NOAA/NWS, storm-based polygons via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet
- Storm reports: NOAA/NWS Local Storm Reports via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet
- Airport programs: FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center
- Tornado tracks: NOAA/NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit damage surveys
- Power outages: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, EAGLE-I (CC BY 4.0)
- County boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau
