Early April Midwest, Mid-Mississippi Valley Severe Weather Outbreak (RECAP)

A severe outbreak spawned deadly tornadoes, along with hundreds of reports of damaging thunderstorm winds and hail primarily in the Mississippi Valley, Ohio Valley and Great Lakes.

(​NEWS: Tornadoes Tear Through Midwest)

T​his two-day outbreak produced at least 22 tornadoes from northern Texas to Ohio.

The outbreak started early on April 4 with a cluster of storms that produced widespread large hail through eastern Iowa and northern Illinois along with damaging winds and three tornadoes over or near the Quad Cities.

Several buildings in Colona, just east of Moline, sustained collapsed roofs and damage from what the National Weather Service found was a brief EF2 tornado with peak winds up to 115 mph. Another brief EF1 tornado was confirmed in Rock Island, Illinois, while another brief EF2 tornado damaged farm buildings in Henry County, just east of the Quad Cities that morning.

T​hat morning cluster of storms went on to uproot numerous trees and blew out windows in the Oak Park neighborhood of Chicago.

Damaging hail was also reported in swaths across eastern Iowa into northern Illinois Tuesday. H​ail up to the size of grapefruits (4 inches in diameter) smashed windshields in Davenport, Iowa. Hail larger than ping pong balls fell in some western and northern Chicago suburbs, and was reported at O'Hare International Airport. And a 3-inch diameter hailstone was northeast Illinois' largest in almost three years, according to the National Weather Service.

In Iowa, a particularly photogenic tornado, taking on the appearance of a drill bit, was spotted by multiple storm chasers near Pleasantville, about 25 miles southeast of Des Moines. The tornado was rated EF1.

I​n southern Missouri, A​ deadly EF2 tornado in the pre-dawn hours early on April 5 tore through parts of Bollinger County, near Glenallen. The tornado claimed 5 lives, in what was Missouri's deadliest single tornado since the Joplin, Missouri, 2011 EF5 tornado claimed 158 lives.

Quarter-size hail driven by strong thunderstorm winds lead to damaged siding, windows and vehicles in Taney County, Missouri, that morning, according to local authorities.

O​n April 5, three EF1 tornadoes touched down in the Louisville metro area, one of which damaged walls of a DashMart warehouse and Kroger distribution center. A wind gust to 78 mph was clocked at Louisville's Muhammad Ali International Airport as the storms rolled through.

EF0 tornadoes were spawned in Cass County, Texas, Montgomery County, Indiana, and Fairfield County, Ohio, on April 5.

I​n total, just under 400 reports of severe thunderstorm wind gusts, wind damage and large hail were compiled by the National Weather Service from April 4-5.

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