Central and Southern Tornado Outbreak
One of the severe storm disasters on NOAA’s billion-dollar list: $1.7 billion in losses at 2024 prices ($1.7 billion at the time) and 3 deaths.
What the offices filed during it
The 70 most significant severe storm episodes filed in these dates, colored by kind.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Losses, 2024 dollars
- $1.7 billion
- Losses at the time
- $1.7 billion
- Deaths
- 3
The losses and deaths are NCEI’s, counting everything the disaster did. The episodes below are only what the Weather Service filed in its Storm Events record, which counts damage differently and often not at all, so the two never add up and are shown apart.
By state, as filed
| State | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 180 | 4 | 59 | $187 million |
| Texas | 224 | 1 | 1 | $12 million |
| Nebraska | 64 | 0 | 7 | $5.4 million |
| Iowa | 69 | 1 | 5 | $3.9 million |
| Michigan | 15 | 0 | 0 | $2.1 million |
| Louisiana | 29 | 0 | 0 | $547,000 |
| Missouri | 112 | 0 | 0 | $342,000 |
| Arkansas | 35 | 0 | 1 | $100,000 |
| Kansas | 140 | 0 | 0 | $80,000 |
| Nevada | 1 | 0 | 0 | $15,000 |
| Wisconsin | 12 | 0 | 0 | $8,000 |
| Illinois | 4 | 0 | 0 | $2,000 |
| South Dakota | 14 | 0 | 0 | |
| Colorado | 12 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wyoming | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| New York | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Episode by episode
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, April 25 to 29, 2024Severe thunderstorms brought damaging winds to much of Arkansas.
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Missouri, April 25, 2024Several rounds of heavy rainfall lead to flash flooding of small creeks and streams. Rainfall amounts from 2 to locally 7 inches were reported across the Missouri Ozarks.
- Hail in South Dakota, April 25, 2024A strong thunderstorm produced hail up to penny size on the east side of Rapid City.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, April 25, 2024Thunderstorms developed over Fall River and Custer counties and quickly became severe as they formed into a line and crossed southwest South Dakota. The storms produced large hail and wind gusts to around 60 mph.
- Tornado and Hail in Wyoming, April 25, 2024Numerous strong to severe thunderstorms develop across southeast Wyoming on the afternoon of the 25th.
- Tornado and Flood in Kansas, April 25, 2024In the early afternoon of the 25th, multiple storms formed in northwestern Kansas and moved north-northeast. There were multiple clusters, or waves, of storms throughout the afternoon to overnight hours.
- Tornado and Hail in Colorado, April 25, 2024A severe thunderstorm developed near Holyoke and produced hail up to 2 inches in diameter. Also, a brief tornado develop south of Akron.
- Hail in South Dakota, April 25, 2024A thunderstorm briefly became severe over southeast Meade County, producing hail up to ping pong ball size east of Elm Springs.
- Hail in Nebraska, April 25, 2024In the early afternoon of the 25, multiple storms formed in northwestern Kansas and moved north-northeast. There were multiple clusters, or waves, of storms.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Colorado, April 25, 2024In the early afternoon of the 25, multiple storms formed in eastern Colorado and northwestern Kansas and moved north-northeast. There were multiple clusters, or waves, of storms throughout the afternoon to overnight hours.
- Hail in Kansas, April 25, 2024Thunderstorms produced large hail across portions of western Kansas on 04/25.
- Damaging Winds in South Dakota, April 25, 2024A cluster of strong to severe thunderstorms developed across eastern Pennington County and tracked east-southeast into northwest Jackson County, producing wind gusts to around 60 mph.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Nebraska, April 25 to 26, 2024An upper level trough over the Four Corners region moved eastward over the Southern and Central Plains. Winds across south central and central Nebraska were out of the southeast to east.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Nebraska, April 25 to 26, 2024On the morning of April 26th, a potent negatively-tilted shortwave trough ejected out into the central Plains. Upper air analysis shows a jet streak on the downstream side of this trough with substantial divergence aloft over Nebraska.
- Hail in Texas, April 25, 2024A retreating dryline collided with a slow-moving Pacific Front causing thunderstorm development. A couple of these thunderstorms produced large hail over the northwest Permian Basin.
- Flash Flood in Kansas, April 25, 2024Heavy rainfall from several rounds of storms lead to flash flooding of small creeks and streams.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, April 25 to 26, 2024On the afternoon and evening of the 25th, a short wave trough was ejecting out of the central Rockies onto the Central High Plains.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, April 26, 2024During the early morning of the 26th, ahead of a strong upper wave passage, a quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) developed across portions of central into eastern Oklahoma.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, April 26, 2024Strong to severe thunderstorms developed along a dry line across northwest Texas and western Oklahoma during the late evening hours of the 25th, as a strong upper level disturbance translated into the Southern Plains.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Missouri, April 26 to 27, 2024Flooding of small creeks and streams and major flooding along the Marmaton and Little Osage River basins occurred thanks to heavy rainfall. From 2 to 4 inches of rainfall on already saturated ground from previous rainfall in the 25th.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Texas, April 26 to 27, 2024The combination of a strong upper level storm system moving into the Southern Plains, a dryline in the area and moderate to strong instability, resulted in a few rounds of severe thunderstorms mainly north of a Robert Lee to San Saba line.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Texas, April 26 to 28, 2024A shortwave trough, dryline, and Pacific front all worked together to produce multiple rounds of thunderstorms Friday April 26 through Sunday April 28. All modes of severe weather took place across the region, along with multiple instances of flash flooding.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Nebraska, April 26, 2024On this Friday afternoon, south central Nebraska served as the launching point to what would end up being a significant/destructive regional tornado outbreak that impacted portions of south central and eastern Nebraska, into southwestern and south central Iowa.
- Hail in Iowa, April 26, 2024While instability was somewhat limited from 1000-1500 J/kg MUCAPE, strong deep layer shear associated with a negatively tilted mid-level trough led to a low CAPE/high shear setup which favored discrete cellular development.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Texas, April 26, 2024A large cluster of strong to severe thunderstorms developed across Northeast Texas late in the afternoon on April 26th.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, April 26, 2024Multiple rounds of storms moved across the area on April 26th. The first round was fueled by broad thermal lift and passed across Iowa through the morning with a few of these storms producing small hail but all remained sub severe.
- Damaging Wind in Nevada, April 26, 2024Cold low pressure digging down from the north brought thunderstorms to portions of the Mojave Desert. One storm produced wind damage.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, April 26, 2024Storms developed during the afternoon hours over the Flint Hills on Friday, April 26th along an eastward moving dryline. As the storms progressed east they started to produce five tornadoes. Two of the tornadoes were rated an EF-2.
- Hail in South Dakota, April 26, 2024While instability was somewhat limited from 1000-1500 J/kg MUCAPE, strong deep layer shear associated with a negatively tilted mid-level trough led to a low CAPE/high shear setup which favored discrete cellular development.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, April 26, 2024On the morning of April 26th, a potent negatively-tilted shortwave trough ejected out into the central Plains. Upper air analysis shows a jet streak on the downstream side of this trough with substantial divergence aloft over Nebraska.
- Tornado and Hail in Kansas, April 26, 2024Flooding of small creeks and streams and major flooding along the Marmaton and Little Osage river basins occurred thanks to 2 to 4 inches of rain falling on already saturated ground from previous rainfall on the 25th.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Missouri, April 26, 2024On the afternoon hours of April 26th, supercells produced 4 brief EF-0 tornadoes in Bates and Henry Counties.
- Damaging Wind in Arkansas, April 26, 2024A large cluster of strong to severe thunderstorms developed across Northeast Texas and eventually Southwest Arkansas late in the afternoon on April 26th.
- Hail in Colorado, April 26, 2024Two thunderstorms formed over the south part of the Denver area producing hail up to one inch in diameter.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Kansas, April 27 to 30, 2024On Saturday April 27th, there was volatile severe weather across Kansas and Oklahoma. An abundance of moisture and increasing shear through the day resulted in numerous rotating storms which produced several tornadoes across the Flint Hills into southeast Kansas.
- Hail and High Wind in Texas, April 27, 2024A very humid and unstable environment was in place across the southeastern Texas Panhandle during the morning of April 27th. This allowed isolated storms to form and produce hail up to penny size.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Oklahoma, April 27 to 28, 2024A widespread, long-duration and historic severe weather and tornado outbreak occurred from the late morning through late evening on the 27th.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Texas, April 27, 2024A widespread, long-duration and historic severe weather and tornado outbreak occurred from the late morning through late evening on the 27th.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Missouri, April 27 to 28, 2024Thunderstorms produced yet additional heavy rainfall and flooding. A severe storm moved across Morgan County producing a brief EF-0 tornado. Additional wind damage occurred prior to the tornado in Vernon and Benton counties.
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Kansas, April 27, 2024During the afternoon and evening hours of April 27th, severe storms impacted northeast and eastern Kansas.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Missouri, April 27, 2024On the afternoon and evening hours of April 27, severe storms impacted much of the WFO Kansas City county warning area.
- Hail in Illinois, April 27, 2024Showers and thunderstorms occurred during the day on April 27th as a disturbance lift across the area during the mid afternoon. One of these storms became severe and produced damaging winds.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, April 27, 2024Another robust shortwave passed across the area. The warm front draped across the area provided the focus for thunderstorm development in the afternoon.
- Tornado and Hail in Kansas, April 27, 2024Storms produced large hail and a few landspouts across western Kansas on 04/27.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Kansas, April 27, 2024During the afternoon hours, scattered storms developed over Northwest Kansas and moved north-northeast. These storms produced mainly hail that ranged in size from pea to hen egg sized, with the largest occurring near Grinnell in northern Gove County.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, April 27, 2024Two rounds of showers and thunderstorms during the day on April 27th as a pair of disturbances lifted northeastward across the area ahead of a cold front. These storms produced hail and damaging wind gusts as they moved across the area.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, April 27, 2024Strong to severe thunderstorms developed along and near a stationary front. Some of the storms produced large hail.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Oklahoma, April 27 to 28, 2024Severe thunderstorms developed during the afternoon of the 27th over central Oklahoma, along and ahead of the dry line, as a strong upper level low pressure system deepened into the Southern Rockies.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Michigan, April 27, 2024Sharp upper-level trough lifted into the region on April 27-28, 2024. Warm, moist airmass advected into the region during the afternoon with gusty synoptic winds finally mixing down with breaks in the clouds late afternoon.
- Hail in Nebraska, April 27, 2024As an upper level trough from the west was beginning to move over the Central Plains, a surface low was centered over southern Kansas and northwest Oklahoma and extended northward into far southern Nebraska.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Kansas, April 27 to 28, 2024A third day of storms with locally heavy rainfall and isolated severe storms produced local flooding and hail to the size of pennies.
- Flash Flood and High Wind in Texas, April 27, 2024Late on the evening of the 27th, severe wind gusts were occurring in the extreme southwestern Texas Panhandle while flash flooding was transpiring in Stonewall County.
- Hail in Texas, April 27, 2024A retreating dryline collided with an advancing Pacific Front resulting in rapid thunderstorm development across the eastern Permian Basin. Marginally severe hail was observed with these thunderstorms.
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Illinois, April 27, 2024A cold front was positioned well west of the area on the evening of April 27, 2024. A strengthening low-level jet resulted in scattered to widespread showers and thunderstorms developing across central Illinois.
- Hail in Kansas, April 27, 2024As an upper level trough from the west was beginning to move over the Central Plains, a surface low was centered over southern Kansas and northwest Oklahoma and extended northward into far southern Nebraska.
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Missouri, April 27 to 29, 2024A line of thunderstorms entered central and northeast Missouri overnight on April 27th, causing isolated bouts of wind damage and a single tornado before de-intensifying within a few hours of arrival.
- Tornado and Flash Flood in Missouri, April 28 to 29, 2024Another round of thunderstorms produced additional heavy rainfall and flooding. A severe storm moved across northern Stone County producing a brief EF-0 tornado. Additional wind damage occurred across Cedar and Dade counties.
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in Arkansas, April 28, 2024Severe thunderstorms developed across eastern Oklahoma during the afternoon of the 28th, and moved into northwestern Arkansas during the evening. The thunderstorms produced damaging wind in Benton County, and one of the stronger storms produced a tornado in Carroll County.
- Tornado and Hail in Texas, April 28, 2024There were two rounds of severe thunderstorms on the 28th. The first in the morning along a cold front as it moved into a warm, moist airmass with storms producing a tornado and damaging wind gusts. The second later in the day as the airmass recovered and a dryline moved in.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Texas, April 28, 2024Regenerative thunderstorm development occurred during the afternoon on April 28th across Central Texas along existing outflows from an MCS that decayed earlier in the morning.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Texas, April 28 to 29, 2024Evening through overnight storms produced a lot of flash flooding, a couple tornadoes, some winds damage and some hail.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Louisiana, April 28, 2024Regenerative thunderstorm development occurred during the afternoon on April 28th across Central Texas along existing outflows from an MCS that decayed earlier in the morning.
- Hail in Oklahoma, April 28, 2024While the main 'piece' of an impactful upper wave lifted into the Northern Plains, a trailing cold front and highly unstable boundary layer fostered the development of a few thunderstorms during the evening of the 28th.
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, April 28, 2024Regenerative thunderstorm development occurred during the afternoon on April 28th across Central Texas along existing outflows from an MCS that decayed earlier in the morning.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Texas, April 28 to 29, 2024A line of thunderstorms moved across Southeast Texas causing another round of heavy rain and severe weather. This produced more flooding in areas that had not completely drained from rain earlier in the month.
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Louisiana, April 28 to 29, 2024A line of thunderstorms swept through Southeast Texas and across Central and South Louisiana. Numerous reports of severe weather and flooding resulted.
- Damaging Wind in Illinois, April 29, 2024Thunderstorms developed along a cold front as it passed through the area during the early morning of April 29th.
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, April 29, 2024Thunderstorms developed along a cold front as it passed through the area during the early morning of April 29th. The near storm environment was unimpressive, and the severe weather threat was forecast to be isolated and marginal.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in New York, April 29, 2024Showers and thunderstorms formed across the area with multiple sea breeze boundaries, energy rounding the base of an upper level ridge and SBCAPE values around 500 to 1000 J/kg. One of these thunderstorms became severe and produced large hail over southeast New York.
- Hail in Oklahoma, April 29, 2024Strong instability and steep lapse rates were present the afternoon and early evening of April 29th across Southeast Oklahoma and Southwest Arkansas.
More
Every billion-dollar disasterEvery storm of 2024Tornadoes in 2024
Sources
NOAA NCEI, U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2025), https://doi.org/10.25921/stkw-7w73, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.