Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes
One of the severe storm disasters on NOAA’s billion-dollar list: $2.9 billion in losses at 2024 prices ($2.1 billion at the time) and 38 deaths.
What the offices filed during it
The 74 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
- $2.9 billion
- Losses at the time
- $2.1 billion
- Deaths
- 38
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 93 | 24 | 563 | $390 million |
| Arkansas | 99 | 7 | 9 | $65 million |
| Alabama | 113 | 7 | 14 | $57 million |
| Mississippi | 133 | 1 | 42 | $37 million |
| Virginia | 132 | 5 | 34 | $20 million |
| Georgia | 44 | 0 | 0 | $14 million |
| South Carolina | 45 | 0 | 3 | $883,000 |
| Illinois | 58 | 0 | 1 | $878,000 |
| Oklahoma | 128 | 2 | 46 | $654,000 |
| Texas | 71 | 1 | 0 | $585,000 |
| New Jersey | 4 | 0 | 0 | $255,000 |
| Pennsylvania | 19 | 0 | 2 | $230,000 |
| Maryland | 14 | 0 | 0 | $160,000 |
| Kansas | 70 | 0 | 0 | $147,000 |
| Missouri | 24 | 0 | 0 | $130,000 |
| Tennessee | 25 | 0 | 0 | $128,000 |
| Louisiana | 34 | 0 | 2 | $100,000 |
| Kentucky | 24 | 0 | 0 | $88,000 |
| Ohio | 8 | 0 | 0 | $66,000 |
| West Virginia | 33 | 1 | 0 | $60,000 |
| Indiana | 1 | 0 | 0 | $50,000 |
| Oregon | 1 | 0 | 0 | $500 |
| Nebraska | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Idaho | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Delaware | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Episode by episode
- Lightning Strike in New Jersey, April 12, 2011A cold pool of air aloft triggered isolated thunderstorms across northeast New Jersey, with one lightning strike reported near Newark.
- Damaging Winds in Idaho, April 13, 2011Two reports of over 60 mph winds in Jefferson reported with severe thunderstorms.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, April 14, 2011Low pressure was centered over southern Kansas during the early afternoon of the 14th with a sharp dryline extending from the low pressure system through central Oklahoma. A moist and very unstable air mass was in place across eastern Oklahoma ahead of the dryline.
- Hail and Lightning Strikes in Kansas, April 14, 2011A powerful spring storm produced a wide variety of extreme weather, including severe thunderstorms across northwest Kansas, high wind with gusts to near 60 mph, and moderate to heavy snow with blizzard conditions.
- Hail in Nebraska, April 14, 2011A powerful spring storm produced a wide variety of extreme weather, including severe thunderstorms across southwest Nebraska, high wind with gusts to near 60 mph, and moderate to heavy snow with blizzard conditions.
- Tornado and Hail in Kansas, April 14, 2011A powerful storm brought a bout of severe weather to Kansas on April 14th. Severe thunderstorms including supercell storms developed ahead of a dryline and cold front during the afternoon.
- Hail in Kansas, April 14, 2011This Thursday afternoon featured the only severe thunderstorms of the month across portions of North Central Kansas, with reports of hail from penny to half dollar size across several counties.
- Hail in Nebraska, April 14, 2011This Thursday afternoon featured a handful of strong thunderstorms mainly across the far southern counties of South Central Nebraska, including reports of pea to nickel size hail in Webster County.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, April 14, 2011An upper level trough moved onshore along the west coast on the 13th, and continued east toward the plains.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, April 14, 2011A powerful spring storm system over the Rocky mountains moved east and strengthened across the High Plains on April 14, 2011. Thunderstorms rapidly developed by mid-afternoon along a dryline extending from southern Kansas to Texas.
- Tornado and Hail in Texas, April 14, 2011A powerful, negatively-tilted upper level trough moved into the Central Plains during the late afternoon hours which aided in the development of supercell thunderstorms near the intersection of a cold front and dryline in north central Texas.
- Tornado in Oregon, April 14, 2011An unstable but strong west to northwest flow aloft produced scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and early evening across eastern Oregon.
- Hail in Missouri, April 14, 2011Strong to severe thunderstorms, which had produced tornadoes in Oklahoma, moved into extreme southwest Missouri producing reports of hail and wind.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Arkansas, April 14, 2011Severe thunderstorms that developed along a dry line during the early evening over eastern Oklahoma moved into northwestern Arkansas by late evening. These thunderstorms produced several tornadoes, large hail, and damaging wind gusts as they moved through the region.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, April 14, 2011A strong upper level trough of low pressure moved into the southern plains, producing strong lift across portions of the Middle Red River Valley of Southeast Oklahoma, Northeast Texas and Southwest Arkansas.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Arkansas, April 14 to 15, 2011A cold front and strong area of low pressure aloft approached Arkansas on the 14th. The result was an outbreak of severe weather from the evening of the 14th through the pre-dawn hours of the 15th. Several tornadoes occurred.
- Damaging Winds in Texas, April 14 to 15, 2011A strong upper level trough of low pressure moved into the southern plains, producing strong lift across portions of the Middle Red River Valley of Southeast Oklahoma, Northeast Texas and Southwest Arkansas and Northwest Louisiana.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Arkansas, April 15, 2011A strong upper level trough of low pressure moved into the southern plains, producing strong lift across portions of the Middle Red River Valley of Southeast Oklahoma, Northeast Texas and Southwest Arkansas and Northwest Louisiana.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Louisiana, April 15, 2011A strong upper level trough of low pressure moved into the southern plains, producing strong lift across portions of the Middle Red River Valley of Southeast Oklahoma, Northeast Texas and Southwest Arkansas and Northwest Louisiana.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, April 15, 2011A Strong area of low pressure in Oklahoma intensified and moved into the Mid Mississippi Valley on April 15, 2011.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, April 15, 2011A significant severe weather outbreak affected the region on April 15th. While the worst of the weather occurred across Mississippi, instances of damaging wind and hail occurred across portions of southeast Arkansas.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Mississippi, April 15, 2011A significant severe weather event and tornado outbreak affected portions of central Mississippi, southeastern Arkansas, and northeastern Louisiana on April 15th. This event evolved slowly and brought multiple rounds of severe storms to the region between 3 am and 9 pm.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Mississippi, April 15, 2011A Strong area of low pressure in Oklahoma intensified and moved into the Mid Mississippi Valley on April 15, 2011.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Louisiana, April 15, 2011A significant severe weather outbreak affected the region on April 15th. While the worst of the weather occurred across Mississippi, instances of damaging wind occurred across portions of northeast Louisiana.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, April 15, 2011A Strong area of low pressure in Oklahoma intensified and moved into the Mid Mississippi Valley on April 15, 2011.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Louisiana, April 15, 2011A cold front moving across southwest Louisiana spawned severe strong to severe thunderstorms, with several reports of large hail and damaging winds received.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, April 15, 2011On Friday, April 15th, as a strong cold front approached Middle Tennessee, strong southerly low level winds ushered in increasing instability and moisture to the area, and along with unseasonably warm temperatures, a few severe thunderstorms developed across the mid state.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Mississippi, April 15, 2011Numerous supercell thunderstorms developed in the late morning through the evening hours across Mississippi and Alabama.
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Alabama, April 15, 2011North Alabama averted most of the severe weather associated with a large severe weather outbreak across the deep South.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Alabama, April 15 to 16, 2011Numerous supercell thunderstorms developed in the late morning through the evening hours across Mississippi and Alabama.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Alabama, April 15, 2011A potent storm system, which wreaked havoc across the eastern half of the United States on April 14-16, produced a significant and historic tornado outbreak across Central Alabama on April 15. Forty tornadoes, 30 of which touched down in Central Alabama, occurred in the state.
- Tornado and Hail in Missouri, April 15, 2011A strong cold front moved through the region, triggering showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms produced severe weather including large hail, damaging winds and an isolated tornado.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Illinois, April 15, 2011A strong cold front moved through the region, triggering showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms produced severe weather including large hail, damaging winds and an isolated tornado.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Georgia, April 15 to 16, 2011A deep, slow moving, negatively tiltled and highly diffluent upper trough was sweeping from the south central into the southeast U.S. during the April 15th and 16th period. A strong Pacific cold front accompanied the upper-level trough.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Missouri, April 15, 2011A broken line of quasi-discrete storms intensified as it moved across the Mid Mississippi Valley into a destabilizing atmosphere. A relatively narrow plume of richer low level moisture characterized by upper 50's dew points moved north into southeast Missouri.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Louisiana, April 15, 2011A cold front moving through the area produced numerous reports of severe weather across southeast Louisiana.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, April 15, 2011A cold front moving through the area produced numerous reports of severe weather across southern Mississippi.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Virginia, April 15 to 16, 2011A strong closed upper level low pressure moved across the Ohio valley, producing a variety of extreme weather across southwest Virginia. In advance of this system,|strong southeast winds produced wind damage across the higher elevations.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Illinois, April 15, 2011A vigorous upper-level disturbance interacting with an approaching cold front triggered severe thunderstorms across central and southeast Illinois during the afternoon and evening of April 15th. The airmass ahead of the front was moderately unstable and highly sheared.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Kentucky, April 15, 2011A broken line of quasi-discrete storms intensified as it moved across the Mid Mississippi Valley into a destabilizing atmosphere. A relatively narrow plume of richer low level moisture characterized by upper 50's dew points moved north into western Kentucky.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Illinois, April 15, 2011A broken line of quasi-discrete storms intensified as it moved across the Mid Mississippi Valley into a destabilizing atmosphere. A relatively narrow plume of richer low level moisture characterized by upper 50's dew points moved north into southern Illinois.
- Hail in Illinois, April 15, 2011Non-severe hail fell in Galva, IL during the evening of April 15.
- Damaging Winds in Kentucky, April 15, 2011A few storms that developed during the afternoon hours of April 15. These produced damaging winds in Barren and Metcalfe counties.
- Damaging Wind in Indiana, April 15, 2011A line of thunderstorms pushed into western portions of central Indiana during the late evening hours of the 15th of April. This line of storms produced a singular thunderstorm wind damage report in Danville.
- Flash Flooding in Kentucky, April 16, 2011On April 16th, showers and thunderstorms moved north into Bell, Harlan, and Pike counties. The storms trained over the same areas, prompting the issuance of 2 flash flood warnings.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Alabama, April 16, 2011A strong area of low pressure and cold front swept through the southeastern states on April 15-16 bringing severe weather to central and southern Alabama as well as the Carolinas.
- Damaging Wind in Ohio, April 16, 2011An area of storms moved through during the early morning hours on April 16th. The main threat was damaging wind.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, April 16, 2011Widespread moderate to heavy rain fell across the western Carolinas during the nighttime hours of the 15th and the morning of the 16th. This resulted in some flash flooding and longer duration flooding over the mountains and foothills.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, April 16, 2011A strong closed upper level low pressure moved across the Ohio valley, producing a variety of extreme weather across northwest North Carolina. In advance of the system, strong southeast winds produced wind damage across the higher elevations.
- Hail and High Wind in Ohio, April 16 to 17, 2011A strong area of low pressure tracked from southwestern Indiana to the northern Great Lakes during the morning and afternoon hours on April 16th. As the area of low pressure entered Michigan and the northern Great Lakes, strong northerly winds hit northern Ohio.
- Flash Flooding in West Virginia, April 16, 2011Showers and thunderstorms moved north during the overnight hours, ahead of an approaching cold front.
- Tornadoes and Hail in South Carolina, April 16, 2011Supercell thunderstorms produced very large hail and 2 tornadoes in the east Midlands and Pee Dee region of SCs. No injuries or deaths occurred and only trees were taken down by the tornadoes.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Virginia, April 16, 2011Strong low pressure over the Midwest remained cutoff from jet stream on the 16th. The warm front associated with this system passed through during the morning. Warm and moist southerly winds behind the front provided moderate amounts of instability.
- Tornadoes and Hail in North Carolina, April 16, 2011One of the largest tornado outbreaks ever observed across eastern North Carolina occurred during the afternoon and evening of April 16th 2011. Several powerful super-cell thunderstorms developed ahead of an approaching cold front.
- Tornadoes in North Carolina, April 16, 2011A strong storm system that had a history of producing deadly tornadoes across Oklahoma and the deep south on the 14th and 15th weakened as it crossed the southern Appalachians during the early morning hours of the 16th.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in West Virginia, April 16, 2011Strong low pressure over the Midwest remained cutoff from jet stream on the 16th. The warm front associated with this system passed through during the morning. Warm and moist southerly winds behind the front provided moderate amounts of instability.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Virginia, April 16 to 17, 2011A strong and closed low pressure system over the Ohio Valley remained nearly stationary through the 16th, bringing copious moisture northward up the eastern seaboard.
- Tornadoes and Hail in South Carolina, April 16, 2011A powerful storm system that had moved across the deep south during previous days, swept across the eastern Carolinas during the afternoon and evening hours. Instability and shear values were highly supportive of super-cell thunderstorms.
- Flash Flood and Flooding in West Virginia, April 16, 2011A strong and closed low pressure system over the Ohio Valley remained nearly stationary through the 16th, bringing copious moisture northward up the eastern seaboard.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Virginia, April 16, 2011Scattered severe thunderstorms in advance of a cold front produced damaging winds, large hail, and numerous tornadoes across portions of central and eastern Virginia.
- Tornadoes and Hail in North Carolina, April 16, 2011A powerful storm system that had moved across the deep south during previous days, swept across the eastern Carolinas during the afternoon and evening hours. Instability and shear values were highly supportive of super-cell thunderstorms.
- Tornado and Hail in South Carolina, April 16, 2011A cold front in combination with outflow boundaries from upstream convection, resulted in scattered strong to severe thunderstorms across southern South Carolina.
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, April 16 to 17, 2011A dynamic area of low pressure and trailing frontal zone moved across southeastern Pennsylvania during the late afternoon and evening, producing intense lines of heavy showers and thunderstorms.
- Tornadoes and Hail in North Carolina, April 16, 2011Scattered severe thunderstorms in advance of a cold front produced damaging winds, large hail, and several tornadoes across portions of northeast North Carolina.
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Maryland, April 16, 2011Strong low pressure over the Midwest remained cutoff from the jet stream on the 16th. The warm front associated with this system passed through during the morning. Warm and moist southerly winds behind the front provided moderate amounts of instability.
- Flash Flood and High Wind in Pennsylvania, April 16 to 17, 2011A low pressure system moved northeast from Illinois to the Great Lakes region during the day. With high pressure to the east over New England, a tightening pressure gradient brought an increase in winds as the low approached.
- Damaging Winds in Maryland, April 16, 2011Isolated severe thunderstorms in advance of a cold front produced damaging winds across portions of the Lower Maryland Eastern Shore.
- Tornado in Pennsylvania, April 16, 2011A dynamic frontal system moved across the Lower Susquehanna Valley during the late afternoon and evening, producing intense lines of heavy showers and thunderstorms.
- Damaging Winds in West Virginia, April 16, 2011An upper-level disturbance triggered showers and thunderstorms across eastern West Virginia on the 23rd. There was enough instability for a few thunderstorms to produce damaging winds.
- Damaging Wind in Delaware, April 16, 2011One thunderstorm that moved through Sussex County exacerbated the ongoing strong synoptic scale southeast winds already in place during the evening of the 16th and produced wind damage.
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in New Jersey, April 16, 2011Thunderstorms that moved across extreme southern New Jersey exacerbated the ongoing strong synoptic scale southeast winds already in place during the evening of the 16th and produced wind damage. In addition, a lightning strike caused damage to a home in Ocean County.
- Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, April 16, 2011A thunderstorm that moved through Chester County exacerbated the ongoing strong synoptic scale southeast winds already in place during the evening of the 16th and produced wind damage.
- Damaging Wind in Maryland, April 16, 2011A thunderstorm that moved across Cecil County exacerbated the ongoing strong synoptic scale southeast winds already in place during the evening of the 16th and produced wind damage.
- Damaging Winds in Kansas, April 17, 2011Rain showers developed across northwest Kansas during the afternoon hours. Several reports of wind gusts over 60 mph were reported by the local ASOS in Goodland and a nearby mesonet station.
More
Every billion-dollar disasterEvery storm of 2011Tornadoes in 2011
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.