Easter weekend 1999 tornado outbreak

The Easter weekend 1999 tornado outbreak was a series of tornado touchdowns which occurred on April 2–3, 1999 from Kansas to Louisiana. The most powerful tornado occurred in Caddo Parish and Bossier Parish in northwestern Louisiana where an F4 tornado killed 7 people and injured 107 others. Damages from the outbreak were estimated to be near $13.7 million (2006 USD). A total of 17 tornadoes were confirmed across the southern Great Plains during the two-day event.

Easter weekend 1999 tornado outbreak
Shreveport, Louisiana NEXRAD image at 3:28 pm.
TypeTornado outbreak
DurationApril 2–3, 1999
Tornadoes confirmed17 confirmed
Max. rating1F4 tornado
Duration of tornado outbreak225 hours, 40 minutes
Damage$13.7 million (2006 USD)
Casualties7 deaths, 107 injuries
Areas affectedKansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale
2Time from first tornado to last tornado

Tornado event

A first series of tornadoes touched down on April 2 across Oklahoma causing mostly minor damage to some structures.

The strongest tornadoes of the outbreak took place across the Arklatex region during the afternoon hours, where the strongest and lone killer tornado of the outbreak took place. At 3:52 PM, a supercell thunderstorm spawned a tornado over Cross Lake, north of Shreveport Regional Airport. The tornado moved northeast. In Caddo Parish the tornado damaged 66 buildings. In Caddo Parish, damages were estimated at near $1.6 million (2006 dollars).[1] At 4:01 PM, the tornado entered Bossier Parish as an F4 tornado. In Bossier Parish, 227 buildings suffered major damage or were destroyed. An additional 162 buildings were damaged. Damages in Bossier Parish are estimated at near $6.7 million (2006 dollars).[2] The tornado dissipated about eight miles northeast of Benton. In all, 7 people were killed and 102 were injured. The tornado was on the ground for about 20 miles. It reached a maximum width of 200 yards. It was Louisiana's deadliest tornado since February 21, 1971, when 10 people were killed east of Delhi.[3]

Three additional tornadoes touched down besides the Caddo-Bossier Parish tornado. These tornadoes injured 1 person and caused up to $6.6 million in damages. Heavy damage was reported near Logansport, Summerfield and Athens heavily damaging several residences.

Weaker tornadoes (rated either F0 or F1) touched down across most of central and northern Arkansas into Missouri as well as in eastern Texas. 4 people in total were injured in two separate tornadoes near Ben and Mammoth Spring with isolated damage to some structures and also to trees and power lines. The outbreak ended just before 6 PM on April 3.[4][5]

Tornado table
Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total
0 7 6 0 3 1 0 17

Confirmed tornadoes

April 2 event
F# Location County Time (UTC) Path length Damage
Oklahoma
F0 SW of Watchom Noble 2145 1 miles
(1.6 km)		 Weak tornado with no damage.
F0 NW of Stafford Custer 0107 0.3 miles
(0.5 km)		 Damage was limited to downed tree limbs.
F1 W of Bloomington Harmon, Greer 0125 7.5 miles
(12 km)		 Barns, grain bins, and Quonset hut-type buildings were damaged.
F1 W of Moravia Greer, Beckham 0213 6 miles
(9.6 km)		 Damage to grain silos, a barn, one home, an ostrich building, and tractors.
F1 S of Dill City Washita 0250 1.1 miles
(1.8 km)		 A shed was destroyed while a home, trees, and power lines were damaged.
F0 N of Custer City Custer 0355 1.1 miles
(1.8 km)		 Weak tornado with little or no damage.
Texas
F0 NE of Aspermont Stonewall 2315 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)		 Brief touchdown with no damage.
Source: Tornado History Project - April 2, 1999 Storm Data

April 3 event
F# Location County Time (UTC) Path length Damage
Kansas
F1 E of Stippville Cherokee 1110 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)		 Three homes were damaged, including one heavily.
Texas
F0 NW of New Waverly Walker 2142 0.3 miles
(0.5 km)		 Damage was limited to trees.
F3 Logansport, Louisiana area Shelby, De Soto (LA) 2151 5.4 miles
(8.6 km)		 Damage to farms, outbuildings, and numerous trees in Texas. In Logansport, Louisiana, several homes had moderate to heavy damage. A church was also damaged with its steeple being knocked down and roof torn up. One person was injured.
F0 Willis area Montgomery 2217 0.3 miles
(0.5 km)		 Caused damage to a mobile home and trees.
Louisiana
F4 NW of Shreveport to N of Midway Caddo, Bossier 2152 19.3 miles
(30.9 km)		 7 deaths – 66 structures in Caddo Parish were damaged including Southern University and several homes. A hardware store was also leveled. In Bossier Parish, 389 structures were affected including 227 homes and businesses sustaining major damage or complete destruction. Brick homes were leveled with one of the structures being left with only a slab. Several horses were reportedly thrown across a highway. Twelve people were injured in Caddo Parish and ninety others in Bossier Parish, where all the fatalities took place.
F3 Athens area Claiborne 2258 8.5 miles
(13.6 km)		 Two mobile homes were destroyed and ten homes were heavily damaged.
F3 N of Lisbon to NW of Randolph Claiborne 2313 14.5 miles
(23.2 km)		 15 homes were severely damaged.
Arkansas
F0 NW of Fivemile Stone 2235 1 miles
(1.6 km)		 A few sheds and outbuildings were destroyed. Trees were also blown down. Two people were injured.
F1 Mammoth Spring area Fulton, Oregon (MO) 2250 10.5 miles
(16.8 km)		 A mobile home and a barn were destroyed. Another mobile home, homes, businesses, and a recreational vehicle were damaged. Two people were injured.
F1 N of Getsemane Jefferson, Lonoke 2325 6.5 miles
(10.4 km)		 Caused damage to outbuildings, signs, power poles, and trees.
Source: Tornado History Project - April 3, 1999 Storm Data
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See also

References
  1. NCDC: Event Details
  2. NCDC: Event Details
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-02. Retrieved 2014-02-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. NCDC: Event Details
  5. NCDC: Event Details
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