Click here (or scroll down) for Pictures of the Damage
Cameras inside and outside capture a f4 or f5 tornado..watch the building at 1:40...It pretty much explodes!
April 2, 2006 Central United States tornado outbreak
The April 2, 2006 Central United States tornado outbreak was a series of tornadoes that occurred during the late afternoon and evening of April 2, 2006 in the central United States. It was the second major outbreak of 2006, in the same area that suffered considerable destruction in a previous outbreak on March 11 and March 12, as well as an outbreak on November 15, 2005. The most notable tornadoes of the outbreak struck northeastern Arkansas, the Missouri Bootheel and West Tennessee, where several communities - including Marmaduke, Arkansas, Caruthersville, Missouri and Newbern, Tennessee suffered devastating damage from several tornadoes triggered from a supercell. In total, sixty-six tornadoes touched down across seven states, which is the most in a single day in 2006. In addition, there were over 850 total severe weather reports, including many reports of straight-line winds exceeding hurricane force and hail as large as softballs, which caused significant additional damage in a nine-state region.
The outbreak was a deadly one; there were a total of twenty-seven tornado-related deaths plus two other deaths from straight-line winds. It was the deadliest tornado outbreak in the United States since the May 2003 tornado outbreak sequence in the first week of May 2003, which killed forty-eight people. Twenty-six of those deaths were caused by a single supercell thunderstorm which produced damaging and long lived tornadoes from north central Arkansas into northwest Tennessee.
Tri-State Supercell tornadoes
The most prolific tornadoes of the outbreak took place in a supercell in extreme northeastern Arkansas, the Missouri Bootheel and extreme northwestern Tennessee, north of Memphis. It involved four tornadoes - all of them F3 on the Fujita scale - along a line over 140 miles (225 km) long.
The first and longest-lasting tornado began in Randolph County Arkansas, south of Pocahontas, at just after 5:30 p.m. CDT (2230 UTC). The tornado then tracked across Greene County. The tornado was fairly weak at first. Numerous houses were damaged in Randolph County, but as it approached the town of Marmaduke at about 6:00 p.m. CDT (2300 UTC), the tornado quickly intensified.
Marmaduke was one of the hardest hit communities. Images have shown that much of the town was destroyed, and nearly every structure has at least significant damage. 137 houses were destroyed, 25 mobile homes were flattened and dozens of railroad cars were thrown into the air like toys. Most of the victims stayed in shelters in Paragould after the tornado hit. Although 47 people were injured, no one was killed.
When the tornado continued eastward into Missouri, damage increased significantly. The worst of it occurred after the tornado reached the vicinity of Caruthersville in Pemiscot County at around 7:00 p.m. CDT (0000 UTC). Considerable destruction was reported in the community, with 226 homes destroyed and 542 houses damaged. The water tower in Caruthersville was destroyed, cutting water service in the area after the tornado. Heavy damage was also reported in Dunklin County. At least two deaths and 130 injuries were reported in the area. The tornado dissipated as it approached the Mississippi River.
More destruction took place after the supercell crossed the Mississippi River into Tennessee, where a new tornado touched down in Dyer County and crossed into western Gibson County between 7:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. CDT (0030-0100 UTC). The tornado touched down in the Newbern area. Damage was reported to have been very severe across the area, with 72 homes completely destroyed and another 182 homes damaged in the Newbern area. Electricity was also cut to much of the area. That section of the tornado there was also deadly, as at least 16 deaths were reported in the Newbern area, many of which were at the Sara Lee Foods plant in Newbern. 70 other people were injured as a result of the tornado. It was the deadliest single tornado in the US since the Evansville tornado on November 6, 2005.
Despite speculation that the tornadoes would be upgraded on the Fujita scale, the ratings for both of those tornadoes were finalized at the high end of F3 with estimated maximum wind speeds of 200 mph (320 km/h).
The supercell as a whole continued eastward into eastern Gibson County, where a new tornado touched down near Bradford. It too was an F3 and resulted in severe damage. A new tornado touched down in the Rutherford area and went southward into the Bradford area. It was also a high-end F3 tornado that left total devastation in the area. The tornadoes also affected Obion, Weakley and Carroll Counties. The two tornadoes left 85 homes destroyed, 573 homes damaged and the complete destruction of many farm and commercial buildings and the Bradford Police Department. Cars were tossed into open fields. 8 people died and 50 were injured in the Bradford area from the two tornadoes.
The Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, declared seven counties disaster areas due to this and other tornadoes in the state. The counties were Cross, Fulton, Greene, Hot Spring, Randolph, White and Conway. The total damage from the three tornadoes was estimated at over $150 million.