Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours of the 26th, along and ahead of a dry line that had moved into western Oklahoma. These storms quickly became severe as they moved eastward into very unstable air during the late afternoon and evening hours.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS TSA wrote it up.
Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours of the 26th, along and ahead of a dry line that had moved into western Oklahoma. These storms quickly became severe as they moved eastward into very unstable air during the late afternoon and evening hours. The storms formed into a squall line over central Oklahoma during the evening. Ahead of this squall line over northwestern Arkansas, very strong low level wind shear had developed as the low level jet strengthened across the area. As a result of this strong wind shear, coupled with moderately strong instability that persisted well into the overnight hours, this squall line was able to produced multiple tornadoes and widespread damaging wind as it moved across northwestern Arkansas during the early morning hours of the 27th.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Tulsa, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 26, 10:57 PM CST, 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE Tulsa OK 1157 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2016 .AVIATION... CONCERNING TAF SITES KTUL/KRVS/KBVO/KMLC/KXNA/KFYV/KFSM/KROG. A main line of convection will continue to push across far Eastern Oklahoma and Northwest Arkansas tonight...with showers and embedded thunderstorms behind the main line. Within the main line of convection...strong winds and possible MVFR conditions will be possible for the Northwest Arkansas TAF sites. VFR conditions should be common within the showers and embedded thunderstorms behind the convection. Preicp is expected to taper off from west to east tonight/early Wednesday morning...with scattered high clouds forecast for Wednesday afternoon and evening across the CWA. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 934 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2016/ DISCUSSION... QLCS is entering the northwest part of our forecast area at this time and will move east across all of eastern Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas overnight. Damaging winds will be the main threat, along with brief, isolated spinup tornadoes along the leading edge. Some hail may also occur, but most of it will be small. Have adjusted first period elements to fit current trends, with the rest of the forecast left as is. Update on the way. TSA Watches/Warnings/Advisories... OK...NONE. AR...NONE. SHORT TERM...20 LONG TERM....05 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... TUL 61 78 52 80 / 100 10 0 10 FSM 63 83 55 85 / 100 30 20 10 MLC 62 80 53 84 / 100 10 0 0 BVO 60 77 49 77 / 100 10 10 10 FYV 60 76 49 79 / 100 40 20 10 BYV 62 78 52 80 / 100 40 20 10 MKO 61 79 52 81 / 100 20 10 10 MIO 61 78 51 77 / 100 20 10 10 F10 61 78 53 81 / 100 10 0 10 HHW 63 81 56 85 / 100 20 10 0 && .TSA Watches/Warnings/Advisories... OK...NONE. AR...NONE. && AVIATION...20
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK 518 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2016 ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-271000- ADAIR OK-BENTON AR-CARROLL AR-CHEROKEE OK-CHOCTAW OK-CRAIG OK- CRAWFORD AR-CREEK OK-DELAWARE OK-FRANKLIN AR-HASKELL OK-LATIMER OK- LE FLORE OK-MADISON AR-MAYES OK-MCINTOSH OK-MUSKOGEE OK-NOWATA OK- OKFUSKEE OK-OKMULGEE OK-OSAGE OK-OTTAWA OK-PAWNEE OK-PITTSBURG OK- PUSHMATAHA OK-ROGERS OK-SEBASTIAN AR-SEQUOYAH OK-TULSA OK-WAGONER OK- WASHINGTON OK-WASHINGTON AR- 518 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2016 ...SEVERE WEATHER EXPECTED TONIGHT... THIS OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS AS WELL AS MUCH OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. TORNADO. RISK...ELEVATED. AREA...EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS. ONSET...AFTER 8 PM. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM. RISK...SIGNIFICANT. AREA...EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS. ONSET...AFTER 8 PM. FLASH FLOOD. RISK...ELEVATED. AREA...MAINLY SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA. ONSET...OVERNIGHT. HEAVY RAIN. RISK...ELEVATED. AREA...MAINLY SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA. ONSET...OVERNIGHT. DISCUSSION... THUNDERSTORMS CURRENTLY DEVELOPING FROM NORTH CENTRAL INTO SOUTHWEST OKLAHOMA WILL MOVE EAST INTO EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND EVENTUALLY NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. STRONG INSTABILITY AND INCREASING WIND SHEAR WILL SUPPORT A SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER RISK ACROSS THE AREA. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS BE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...WITH THE TORNADO POTENTIAL BEING GREATEST PRIOR TO MIDNIGHT. THE TORNADIC POTENTIAL IS EXPECTED TO BE LESS DEFINED AS STORMS CONGEAL LATE THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT...ALTHOUGH SOME TORNADIC POTENTIAL WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE NIGHT. SPOTTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF THE REGIONAL SPOTTER NETWORK EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. WEDNESDAY...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL...HIGH WIND POTENTIAL. THURSDAY...THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL. FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL...HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL. SUNDAY AND MONDAY...THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL. EXTENDED DISCUSSION... THUNDERSTORMS MAY CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY...MAINLY ACROSS FAR EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORM CHANCES RETURN LATE THURSDAY NIGHT...WITH AN INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY EXPECTED FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE POSSIBLE ALONG WITH AREAS OF FLOODING GIVEN THE EXPECTED RAINFALL AMOUNTS. AN UNSETTLED PATTERN WILL CONTINUE INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH CONTINUED THUNDERSTORM CHANCES. WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TULSA CONTAINS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1107 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1104 PM TSTM WND GST 2 N EUFAULA 35.32N 95.58W
04/26/2016 E65 MPH MCINTOSH OK TRAINED SPOTTER
ON HIGHWAY 69
&&
JDSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1109 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1024 PM TSTM WND GST 4 WSW TULSA 36.11N 95.99W
04/26/2016 M72 MPH TULSA OK AMATEUR RADIO
AT 37TH AND JACKSON
&&
JDSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1111 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1108 PM TSTM WND GST 3 S CHECOTAH 35.43N 95.52W
04/26/2016 E70 MPH MCINTOSH OK EMERGENCY MNGR
&&
JDSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1127 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1119 PM TSTM WND GST 2 NW HUGO 34.03N 95.53W
04/26/2016 M65 MPH CHOCTAW OK MESONET
&&
JDSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1152 PM CDT TUE APR 26 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1145 PM TSTM WND GST SPAVINAW 36.39N 95.05W
04/26/2016 E70 MPH MAYES OK EMERGENCY MNGR
&&
CKHPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1222 AM CDT WED APR 27 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1200 AM TSTM WND DMG 6 S ELDON 35.84N 94.84W
04/27/2016 CHEROKEE OK EMERGENCY MNGR
LARGE TREES DOWN
&&
MATThe Tulsa radar (KINX), 99 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 05:21 UTC.
11 thunderstorm wind, 6 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
A few trees were uprooted and large tree limbs were snapped from northeast of Maysville to west southwest of Sulphur Springs.
This tornado snapped or uprooted numerous trees, blew down power poles, destroyed outbuildings, and damaged homes. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 100 to 110 mph.
A tree was blown over onto a home.
This tornado uprooted a few trees, snapped large tree limbs, and damaged the roofs of homes. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 85 to 95 mph.
Strong thunderstorm wind blew down large tree limbs.
Strong thunderstorm wind damaged the siding of homes and snapped large tree limbs.
This tornado uprooted numerous trees, damaged homes, and damaged chicken houses. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 90 to 100 mph.
Large tree limbs were snapped and a few trees were uprooted at the Big Sugar Golf Club south of Pea Ridge.
Strong thunderstorm wind damaged the Greenland High School.
Strong thunderstorm wind snapped large tree limbs.
This tornado uprooted a number of trees and blew down power poles. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 85 to 95 mph.
Strong thunderstorm wind uprooted several small trees.
Strong thunderstorm wind snapped large tree limbs.
This tornado destroyed several outbuildings, damaged homes, snapped or uprooted numerous trees, and blew down power poles. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 100 to 110 mph.
This tornado damaged chicken houses, damaged several homes, destroyed an outbuilding, and snapped numerous large tree limbs. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 75 to 85 mph.
Strong thunderstorm wind snapped large tree limbs.
Strong thunderstorm wind damaged an outbuilding.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Arkansas, 2016Warnings in Arkansas, April 2016
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 629164, 632457, 629167, 632458, 629168, 629169, 632466, 629170, 629171, 632902, 632467, 632903, 632904, 632469, 632473, 632905, 632906.