Tornado outbreak hits hard across bevy of states
Several destructive tornadoes on Friday and early Saturday left over two dozen dead and dozens more injured, along with catastrophic damage in several cities.
An EF3 tornado cut a path of destruction through the town of Sullivan, Indiana, but the mayor says the spirit of the community will endure.
The destruction caused by a plethora of tornadoes Friday, March 31 and early Saturday, April 1, cast a wide net, impacting states across the South and Midwest. As of Sunday morning, the tornado outbreak has been responsible for at least 32 fatalities, according to The Associated Press. Nearly 120 preliminary tornado reports were sent to the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center, with several of the tornadoes causing widespread damage. As of Tuesday morning, the National Weather Service had confirmed 80 tornadoes.
Tornado reports from March 31, 2023, into April 1, 2023.
Here's a state-by-state breakdown of what happened:
Arkansas
Five deaths were reported in Arkansas, including four in the city of Wynne due to a tornado late Friday night, WJTV reported, citing Cross County Coroner Eli Long. Dozens of people sustained injuries in the city, which is located about 40 miles west of Memphis.
On Saturday, Wynne Mayor Jennifer Hobbs stated that search and rescue operations remained “our main priority,” along with clearing roadways and debris. Hobbs noted “agencies from all over Arkansas” have aided Wynne with equipment, operators, law enforcement and medical personnel.
“We would like to thank everyone who has reached out to offer assistance to the community, we are absolutely overwhelmed with the support from the communities across our state and the nation,” Hobbs said. “We would ask for continued thoughts and prayers for our citizens and the responding crews.”
The tornado also brought significant damage to Wynne High School, with Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying on Twitter that the Arkansas Department of Education is working with local school officials to “make a plan” for current students. “Anything they need, my administration is here to provide,” Sanders said.
An announcement on the Wynne Public Schools website said Monday that schools will be closed through at least Friday.
One additional fatality was reported after a high-end EF3 tornado in the Little Rock area, according to Chris May, a news anchor for KATV. Photos from the damage in Little Rock showed downed trees, flipped cars and a handful of damaged buildings. One photo showed the gutted insides of a store, the roof torn from the structure and the insulation strewn across the remaining debris. Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott, Jr., said on Twitter Friday evening that at least 24 people were hospitalized due to the storm.
“It came so fast … I got up off my desk, grabbed my wallet, grabbed my phone and went downstairs,” Little Rock resident Mike Green told AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell. “Two minutes later, I heard the train and I felt the air suck and I threw myself under a door … there was just like a smoke bomb had gone off.”
The tornado that tore through Little Rock was one part of the four tornado emergencies to be issued Friday evening. These alerts are typically reserved for rare situations when a severe threat to human life is imminent or ongoing, catastrophic damage is imminent or ongoing and reliable sources confirm a tornado, according to the National Weather Service.
Illinois
Farther north, four deaths were reported in Illinois, including one in Belvidere, located about 70 miles to the northwest of Chicago. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said 48 people were hospitalized after a partial roof collapse at the town's Apollo Theater during a sold-out concert. Pritzker said Sunday morning that five of those hospitalized remain in critical condition.
“I was there within a minute before it came down,” concertgoer Gabrielle Lewellyn told the Associated Press. “The winds, when I was walking up to the building, it went like from zero to a thousand within five seconds.” Police at the scene described the collapse as “chaos, absolute chaos,” according to the AP.
The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado impacted the area of the theater, and a survey crew found preliminary EF1 tornado damage associated with the tornado. The four deaths in Illinois were reported in Boone County, where the Apollo Theater is located, as well as Crawford County.
Indiana
Another state heavily impacted in the Midwest, three deaths were reported in Indiana following tornadic storms. The city of Sullivan, located in southwestern Indiana, was pummeled by a tornado late Friday night with many homes sustaining severe damage, Sullivan Mayor Clint Lamb said. Lamb confirmed the three fatalities on Saturday morning, noting over 200 buildings had been damaged in the area. In the Bloomington, Indiana area, local scanner traffic reported “hundreds” of downed trees, as well as downed power lines.
The names of those who perished from the Sullivan tornado were released Sunday afternoon. They include: Shane Steven Goodman, aged 47; Susan Kay Horton, aged 56, and son Thomas Randall Horton, aged 38. All three were residents of Sullivan.
"We ask for your prayers for the families and friends of these victims. And for our community. Our hearts are broken," Sullivan, Indiana, coroner Joe Coffman said in a statement.
Iowa
In Iowa, the NWS in Quad Cities confirmed 13 tornadoes in the eastern part of the state and western Illinois. The most intense, an EF4 twister with 170 mph winds traveled at least 35 miles, mostly through open fields in Keokuk County, Washington County, and Johnson County, Iowa. The storm was widely captured by storm chasers, including our own Tony Laubach.
Meteorologist Tony Laubach describes the chase of a long-path tornado that ended up wreaking havoc on Iowa City on March 31.
Mississippi
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency told WCBI News that one person died and four others were injured in a tornado that hit Pontotoc, Mississippi, early Saturday morning. The deadly tornado came a week after four tornado emergencies were issued in Mississippi amid a dangerous tornado outbreak that killed at least 23 people across the South and spawned an EF4 tornado near the town of Rolling Fork.
Alabama
Storms in northern Alabama left one woman dead and three others seriously injured Saturday morning after an EF3 tornado impacted the state. In Madison County, along the Alabama-Tennessee border, a local coroner confirmed that a woman was killed Saturday morning when a storm impacted her home, according to News 19. She was pronounced dead shortly after 4 a.m., local time. Madison County Commission Chairman Mac Mccutcheon reported that there were five injuries in total, with two people treated on scene and three others transported to a hospital in Huntsville, Alabama.
Tennessee
After touching down in northern Alabama, the EF3 tornado continued its path into Lincoln County, Tennessee, located in the far southern part of the state, early Saturday morning. Numerous structures and homes were heavily damaged and at least two homes sustained a complete collapse of walls, according to the National Weather Service.
Several other states were affected by the outbreak, including Ohio where damaging straight-line winds knocked out power to thousands. In Iowa, a preliminary low-end EF4 tornado caused extensive damage in Keokuk County, according to the National Weather Service. The tornado tracked from Wapello County to Johnson County, with estimated winds around 170 mph.
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