 The EF4 tornado (upper-left hand corner) being illuminated by lightning during the night near Hayti, Missouri. | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | December 10, 2021, 7:07 p.m. CST |
| Dissipated | December 10, 2021, 8:36 p.m. CST |
| Duration | 1 hour, 29 minutes |
| EF4 tornado | |
| on the Enhanced Fujita scale | |
| Highest winds | 170 mph (270 km/h) |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 8 (+1 indirect) |
| Injuries | 16 |
| Damage | $13.5 million (2021 USD) |
| Areas affected | Craighead (AR), Mississippi (AR), Dunklin (MO), Pemiscot (MO), Lake (TN), Obion (TN) counties. |
Part of the Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021 | |
Throughout the evening hours of December 10, 2021, a large and destructive tornado struck areas in and around the cities and communities of Monette (AR), Leachville (AR), Braggadocio (MO), Hayti (MO), Tiptonville (TN) and Samburg (TN), killing eight people and injuring 16 others. The tornado was the second strongest and third deadliest of the tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021. The tornado reached peak intensity twice, the first time east of Braggadocio and the second time in Tiptonville, leading the National Weather Service to assign a rating of low-end EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, with maximum wind speeds estimated at 170 mph (270 km/h).
Early estimates suggested that the tornado family—identified by some media outlets as a "Quad-State tornado", due to the storm's long track and similarity to the 219-mile (352 km) Tri-State tornado of 1925—might have cut a path of up to 250 miles (400 km) across the affected areas, making it the longest-tracked tornado in history.[1][2][3] However, storm surveys found that the majority of the storm's path consisted of two distinct EF4 tornadoes, with three short-lived and weak tornadoes in between them in northwestern Obion County, Tennessee. The parent supercell that produced the two EF4 tornadoes, and eleven tornadoes in total, later became known as the "Quad-State supercell".
- ^ Ryan Reynolds (December 11, 2021). "Kentucky tornado may have broken 1925 'Tri-State Tornado's' longest continuous path record". Evansville Courier & Press. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
- ^ "How the 'Quad States' tornado happened". WCPO. December 14, 2021. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
- ^ "Longest tornado ever? Deadly twister that hit 5 states may set record". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2021.