F2 tornado, Vimy Ridge to Galloway, Arkansas, February 24, 2001

1. F040 to 72 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. F173 to 112 mph

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. F2113 to 157 mphthis tornado

   Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

4. F3158 to 206 mph

   Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

5. F4207 to 260 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. F5261 to 318 mph

   Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

7. Unrated

   The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Rating

F2

Date

February 24, 2001

Touchdown

3:31 PM CST (21:31 UTC)

Path length

14.3 miles (23.0 km)

Path width

200 yards (183 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

8

Counties

Pulaski and Saline counties

Touchdown point

34.580, -92.380

Lift-off point

34.730, -92.180

Record number

6

A strong tornado developed about 2.5 miles east of Vimy Ridge in southeast Saline County. The tornado moved quickly northeast, and caused mostly tree damage. The tornado travelled about 2 miles before moving into Pulaski County.

A strong tornado moved from southeast Saline County into southwest Pulaski County about 7.5 miles west of Wrightsville. The tornado moved quickly northeast, and closely followed the track of a violent tornado on March 1, 1997. In fact, a few homes and buildings that were rebuilt after the March 1st event were destroyed during this latest event. The tornado affected much of southern Pulaski County, including the Sweet Home and College Station communities. Several houses and mobile homes were damaged or destroyed, including a church. Eight people suffered minor injuries. Trees and power lines were also downed. The tornado was on the ground about 12.3 miles before dissipating about 5.5 miles east of Little Rock.

A weak tornado was spawned in eastern Pulaski County about 1.6 miles west-southwest of Galloway. The tornado moved quickly northeast, and damaged the roofs of a few buildings. A small mobile home was also destroyed and was thrown against the corner of a local business. Trees and power lines were also downed. The tornado was on the ground only about 2.2 miles, and dissipated just over 1 mile north of Galloway.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

18 minutes of warning. NWS LZK issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:13 UTC, 18 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 21:45 UTC.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Moderate Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 20:12 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Little Rock/Adams (LIT), 9 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 20 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:31 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2001 tornado in ArkansasEvery tornado in Arkansas since 1950Warnings in force in Arkansas nowThe forecast where you are

20 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.