Most significant tornadoes

Vilonia tornado, The first killer tornado of the outbreak was a large EF2 that struck the small town of Vilonia, Arkansas (Faulkner County) around 7:30 pm CDT on April 25. A tornado warning was issued for the town roughly 30 minutes prior to the tornado's arrival and the relatively low loss of life is attributed to this lead time. A tornado emergency was declared at 7:24 pm CDT for Vilonia shortly before the tornado struck. Four people are known to have been killed in the town and many more injured. Numerous structures were also damaged or destroyed. One mobile home was completely destroyed and debris from the home was scattered a significant distance from where it stood. Several other homes were reportedly leveled by the tornado. Within five minutes of the storm, local fire fighters arrived in the town and began search and rescue efforts. Following the tornado, 85 members of the National Guard were deployed to assist in search and rescue, debris clearing, security and traffic control.

Smithville tornado

A violent tornado struck Smithville, Mississippi, at 2:44 p.m. CDT on April 27. The damage path was less than three miles long, but was half a mile wide, and did extreme damage in Smithville. While initial reports indicated more widespread damage, the NWS damage survey reported EF5 damage, with 18 homes, a post office, a police station, and what was listed as the "water system" completely destroyed, with 52 homes and 7 businesses damaged to varying degrees. Dozens of newly constructed two-story, brick homes were leveled and trees were debarked. Five people are reported as missing. Damage assessments have determined that 150 homes, 14 businesses and 2 churches were destroyed by the tornado in Smithville. The homes were well-built, of recent construction, but the storm was violent enough that all appliances and plumbing fixtures in the damage path were "shredded or missing." 14 people were killed, and 40 injured. The tornado has been officially rated as an EF5 tornado with estimated winds of 205 mph; information is still preliminary.

This was the first confirmed EF5 tornado anywhere in the world since the Parkersburg, Iowa, tornado on May 25, 2008.

This storm, preliminarily rated EF4, is likely to have begun in the Lakeview community northeast of Geraldine, Alabama. The tornado then tracked northeastward generally parallel and just east of State Route 75 through Fyffe, Rainsville, and Sylvania killing 30 people. Damage has also been reported farther to the northeast through the Henagar and Ider areas, although these locations have not been surveyed yet.

The tornado touched town in the Lakeview community initially causing structural damage to small buildings and snapping trees. The tornado grew in intensity and the path width increased from around 50 yards to a half a mile as it entered the the Rainsville and Sylvania communities Damage included houses that were completely removed from foundations and debris scattered for about one mile, trees were debarked, and a few mobile homes were completely destroyed with debris strewn for about a mile downstream. In Sylvania, some of these houses completely removed from foundations contained anchor bolts and foundation straps. Further surveys will be conducted along points between Fyffe and Lakeview and eventually beyond Sylvania, where additional damage occurred.