The National Weather Service Monday morning finished their survey of damage in Boone and Marion counties and confirmed it was a low-end EF3 tornado that claimed four lives and injured at least one in that area. It was on the ground just over an estimated 21 miles.
According to information from the survey team, the tornado likely started just west of Bellefonte road, near the intersection of Maxie Camp Road in Boone County, damaging trees and a few power poles as it crossed the road. A few homes sustained some damage, mainly to their roofs and the southern and southeastern exterior walls. A hay barn was also completely destroyed.
The tornado then kept moving east into an open field, snapping trees in its path and along Maxie Camp Road.
The tornado crossed U.S. Highway 65, moving over the Boone County Sheriff’s Department Building and an Arkansas State Police Troop Center. The two buildings sustained very minor damage. A loaded trailer of the BCSD was likely lofted and tossed onto a gate on the premises that sustained major damage to become inoperable.
Just east of the highway, a storage unit complex sustained damage to all three storage buildings, and an RV was flipped on its side. Another business building behind the storage units sustained damage. Just to the south of the storage complex, another large metal building with multiple bay doors facing the prevailing tornado forward speed winds was badly damaged with most walls collapsed.
The tornado kept moving east, likely expanding in width and snapping trees and power poles along Maxie Camp Road.
As the tornado approached the intersection of Maxie Camp and Starkey Road, a mobile home was completely lofted, rolled, and destroyed.
Extensive tree damage was observed all along the north and south portion of Maxie Camp Road. A few homes, one with a CMU footprint and the other with a partial concrete pad and open crawlspace concrete footing were completely lifted off their bases and destroyed. No anchoring was found on the homes, likely leading to the complete destruction of the mixed construction domicile.
Trees in the immediate vicinity of the destroyed homes were completely snapped and demolished as well. Despite the lack of anchoring, the complete destruction of this home was consistent with low-end EF3 wind speeds of 140-145 mph.
A resident of one of the destroyed homes sustained non-life threatening injuries.
The tornado began to move northeast, paralleling U.S. Highway 62/412, moving just southeast of Olvey and causing mainly tree damage and destroying small outbuildings. BCSD reported one fatality in Boone County inside a destroyed mobile home, near the Olvey area.
The tornado then crossed into Marion County, continuing to follow Highway 62 to the south, near Pyatt. Marion County OEM reported 3 fatalities associated with this tornado within Marion County. Extensive tree damage was observed across several county roads, and a few mobile homes were lofted and destroyed on County Road 4010.
The tornado then began to move up the Crooked Creek valley where extensive tree damage was observed and moderate damage to the second level of a tin roofed home was found as well.
The tornado continued to move northeast, damaging and snapping most trees in its path as it crossed Crooked Creek and County Road 4006 and the Snow Access Road and Snow Campground.
The tornado then crossed Highway 62 again near the municipality of Snow, causing minor to moderate damage to homes around the area.
As the tornado crossed Highway 62, it began moving northeast again, causing mainly tree damage to the north of the highway, and eventually crossed Arkansas Highway 125 North and County Road 3032, where more extensive tree damage was observed.
At this location another mobile home which was unanchored was lofted and completely destroyed. Tree damage was evident to the east of the last observed damage indicators, but was inaccessible by road.
The tornado likely continued off into the trees for a couple of miles before dissipating in rural territory.
This was an extremely wide tornado topping out at approximately 1,500 yards or about 0.85 miles wide.
Fatalities and injuries are based on current information and may be updated once the full impact of this weekend’s storms is compiled.
Monetary losses are unknown at this time.
.Boone-Marion…
Rating: EF3
Estimated Peak Wind: 145 mph
Path Length /statute/: 21.10 miles
Path Width /maximum/: 1500 yards
Fatalities: 4
Injuries: 1
Start Date: 05/26/2024
Start Time: 03:27 AM CDT
Start Location: 2 S Bellefonte / Boone County / AR
Start Lat/Lon: 36.1773 / -93.0482
End Date: 05/26/2024
End Time: 04:04 AM CDT
End Location: 2 NNW Summit / Marion County / AR
End Lat/Lon: 36.2773 / -92.699
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EF Scale: The Enhanced Fujita Scale classifies tornadoes into the
following categories:
EF0…..65 to 85 mph
EF1…..86 to 110 mph
EF2…..111 to 135 mph
EF3…..136 to 165 mph
EF4…..166 to 200 mph
EF5…..>200 mph
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