Tornadoes · United States · Arkansas · 2011

EF2 tornado, Portland, Arkansas, May 25, 2011

This EF2 tornado ran 6.3 miles across Ashley County on May 25, 2011, touching down at 8:37 PM CDT and reaching 352 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $100,000 of property damage.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. EF065 to 85 mph

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

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

  3. EF2111 to 135 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. EF3136 to 165 mph

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

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

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

  6. EF5over 200 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.

The record

Rating
EF2
Date
May 25, 2011
Touchdown
8:37 PM CDT (01:37 UTC)
Lifted
8:43 PM CDT (01:43 UTC)
On the ground
6 minutes
Path length
6.3 miles (10.1 km)
Path width
352 yards (322 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$100,000
County
Ashley County
Touchdown point
33.266, -91.520
Lift-off point
33.291, -91.447
Record number
1105251937-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A powerful, late season low pressure system brought a few severe thunderstorms to extreme southeast Arkansas during the late evening hours of May 25th. The storms produced damaging winds, large hail and a tornado.

Ten power poles were snapped along with several overturned irrigation pivots. There was minor damage to the roofs of several homes, along with several trees snapped and uprooted. A carport was destroyed, and tin was blown off several outbuildings.

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

The warnings

1 minute of warning. NWS JAN issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:36 UTC, 1 minute before the tornado touched down, in force until 01:51 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 20:20 UTC and running to 02:45 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
15:00 UTC00:00 UTCWind AdvisoryJAN
20:20 UTC02:45 UTCTornado WatchJAN
00:28 UTC00:53 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningJAN
01:18 UTC02:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningJAN
01:36 UTC01:51 UTCTornado WarningJAN

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 forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 00:57 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 air that afternoon

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.

Jackson, MS (KJAN), 00:00Z

1.6 hours before the tornado, 169 km from the path. May 26, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Jackson, MS at 00:00Z on 2011-05-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1200 joules per kilogram, CIN -105, lifted condensation level 2164 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Jackson, MS at 00:00Z on 2011-05-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 104 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 39 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
1200 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-105 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1848 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2164 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
104 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
160 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
5.0
0-3 km lapse rate
7.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Jackson, MS (KJAN), 12:00Z

10.4 hours after it, 169 km from the path. May 26, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Jackson, MS at 12:00Z on 2011-05-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1916 joules per kilogram, CIN -22, lifted condensation level 650 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Jackson, MS at 12:00Z on 2011-05-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 270 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 40 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
1916 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-22 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1314 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
650 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
270 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
253 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.1
Supercell composite
14.2
0-3 km lapse rate
6.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Jackson/Brandon,MS radar (KDGX), 179 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:38 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.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
00:55 UTCTSTM WND DMGCrossettAshley, ARA FEW TREES DOWN
01:37 UTCTORNADO 22 N PortlandAshley, ARTORNADO MOVED TO 6 NE PORTLAND. 6.25 MILE LENGTH AND 0.2 MILE MAX WIDTH. 10 POWER POLES SNAPPED...SEVERAL OVERTURNED IRRIGATION PIVOTS...MINOR DAMAGE TO SEVERAL ROOFS OF HOMES...DESTROYED CARPORT...TIN OFF NUMEROUS OUTBU
01:38 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 N PortlandAshley, AR8 POWERPOLES SNAPPED ALONG 165. SEVERAL TREES SNAPPED AND UPROOTED. TREE DOWN ON MOBILE HOME ON CR 53. DAMAGE TO OUTBUIDLINGS.
01:38 UTCTSTM WND DMGPortlandAshley, ARA SHED WAS DAMAGED IN THE PORTLAND AREA
01:40 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 E PortlandAshley, ARLARGE OAK TREES UPROOTED AND PORCH DAMAGED ALONG HWY 160.
01:55 UTCHAIL 1.51 Wsw Lake VillageChicot, AR
01:56 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 S Lake VillageChicot, ARTREES DOWN ACROSS HWY 159 BETWEEN JENNIE AND LAKE VILLAGE.
01:58 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 Ese Lake VillageChicot, ARNUMEROUS TREES DOWNED ALONG LAKEHALL ROAD AT CHICOT COUNTY PARK.
01:58 UTCTSTM WND DMGLake VillageChicot, ARCOUPLE POWERPOLES SNAPPED ON NORTH LAKE SHORE DR ALONG WITH SNAPPED TREES.
02:00 UTCHAIL 1.755 E Lake VillageChicot, ARSWATH OF LARGE HAIL UP TO GOLFBALL SIZE FROM LAKE CHICOT STATE PARK TO THE US HIGHWAY 82 MISSISSIPPI RIVER BRIDGE.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2011 tornado in ArkansasEvery tornado in Arkansas since 1950Warnings in force in Arkansas nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 25, 2011

93 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 251:30 AM CDTEF1Webster, MO9.3100$20,000
May 257:35 AM CDTEF1Macon, IL1.075$165,000
May 257:39 AM CDTEF1Macon, IL1.575$100,000
May 259:04 AM CDTEF1Kankakee, IL5.850$250,000
May 259:13 AM CDTEF0Newton, IN0.120$25,000
May 259:19 AM CDTEF2Newton, IN1.9300$50,000
May 259:24 AM CDTEF1Jasper, IN2.9100$500
May 259:26 AM CDTEF1Jasper, IN1.9100$50,000
May 2510:45 AM EDTEF0Pulaski, IN0.850
May 2510:45 AM CDTEF0Miami, KS0.140$5,000
May 2511:10 AM CDTEF0Johnson, KS0.760$10,000
May 2511:22 AM CDTEF0Johnson, KS0.140
May 2511:35 AM CDTEF0Cass, MO0.140
May 2511:38 AM CDTEF0Johnson, KS0.140
May 2512:22 PM CDTEF2Pettis, MO2.150020$4.0 million
May 2512:33 PM CDTEF0Clay, MO0.140
May 2512:45 PM CDTEF0Clay, MO0.140
May 2512:52 PM CDTEF0Pettis, MO0.140
May 251:04 PM CDTEF0Cooper, MO0.140
May 251:07 PM CDTEF0Lafayette, MO0.140
May 252:15 PM CDTEF1Montgomery, MO7.1100
May 253:26 PM EDTEF0Van Wert, OH0.140
May 252:56 PM CDTEF1Oregon, MO2.5100$20,000
May 253:49 PM CDTEF3Carter, MO47.41,2002$800,000
May 254:13 PM CDTEF1Jackson, AR5.5500$40,000
May 255:15 PM EDTEF1Decatur, IN0.8600$500,000
May 255:20 PM EDTEF1Decatur, IN0.1400$250,000
May 254:35 PM CDTEF1Madison, MO5.540
May 254:37 PM CDTEF1Wayne, MO17.8150$70,000
May 254:44 PM CDTEF0Carter, MO0.550$2,000
May 254:45 PM CDTEF1Des Moines, IA4.8100$250,000
May 254:46 PM CDTEF1Madison, MO5.3440
May 254:47 PM CDTEF1Madison, MO4.3580
May 254:51 PM CDTEF0Perry, MO0.360$3,000
May 254:58 PM CDTEF0Ripley, MO0.750
May 256:00 PM EDTEF1Huron, OH8.050$250,000
May 255:00 PM CDTEF1Des Moines, IA3.650$50,000
May 255:14 PM CDTEF0Butler, MO0.740
May 256:14 PM EDTEF0Hardin, OH0.225
May 255:26 PM CDTEF1Bollinger, MO13.0250$30,000
May 256:06 PM CDTEF0McLean, IL0.925$8,000
May 256:09 PM CDTEF1McLean, IL10.375$10,000
May 257:10 PM EDTEF0Montgomery, OH0.125$5,000
May 256:18 PM CDTEF1Cape Girardeau, MO2.1250$20,000
May 256:18 PM CDTEF0St. Francis, AR1.1100
May 256:28 PM CDTEF2Jefferson, IL13.5250$4.0 million
May 256:30 PM CDTEF0Scott, MO0.450$1,000
May 257:30 PM EDTEF0Summit, OH4.250$200,000
May 256:39 PM CDTEF1Union, IL2.0125$150,000
May 256:40 PM CDTEF1Pulaski, IL5.5250$50,000
May 256:45 PM CDTEF1Pulaski, IL10.0120$40,000
May 256:48 PM CDTEF1Crittenden, AR2.5100$500,000
May 256:55 PM CDTEF2Pulaski, IL19.9325$255,000
May 256:58 PM CDTEF0Champaign, IL0.215$5,000
May 257:58 PM EDTEF3Lawrence, IN6.8300$150,000
May 255:08 PM PDTEF1Glenn, CA21.6120$200,000
May 255:12 PM PDTEF1Glenn, CA26.4120$150,000
May 257:18 PM CDTEF1Clay, IL1.075$510,000
May 257:35 PM CDTEF0Richland, IL0.210
May 257:57 PM CDTEF2Crawford, IL5.5200$920,000

All 94 of them

What this means

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.

Sources

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