Tornado Outbreak Spawned 130 Tornadoes, Including Oklahoma EF4, Nebraska and Iowa EF3s

A severe weather outbreak tore through the Plains in late April 2024, spawning destructive tornadoes from Iowa and Nebraska to Oklahoma and Texas.

T​he tornado tally: 130 tornadoes were either confirmed by the National Weather Service or sighted by storm spotters in the four-day period from April 25-28.

They spanned over 10 different states from Wyoming to Iowa to Texas. Over 30 tornadoes were confirmed in Oklahoma, at least two dozen in Iowa, 20 in Texas, 16 in Missouri, 15 in Kansas and 13 in Nebraska.

The strongest tornadoes: An EF4 tornado raked through the west side of Marietta, Oklahoma, after 10 p.m. on April 27. One person was killed and a Dollar Tree warehouse was heavily damaged.

It was the nation's first EF4 tornado since March 31, 2023. That tornado tore a 27-mile long path across Love and Carter Counties in southern Oklahoma.

Nebraska, Iowa's stronger tornadoes: About 20 percent (two dozen) of the tornadoes were rated at least EF2.

A​ handful of them tore through eastern Nebraska and western Iowa.

A​nother long-track EF3 tornado heavily damaged the town of Elkhorn, Nebraska, before crossing the Missouri River into Harrison County, Iowa.

Y​et another EF3 tornado first touched down near Omaha's Eppley Airfield, where aircraft hangars and some unsecured small aircraft were destroyed, before the tornado crossed the Missouri River and Interstate 29 into Iowa.

T​wo additional EF3 tornadoes in far western Iowa tore through parts of Pottawatomie and Shelby Counties. The town of Minden took a direct hit, with extensive damage, one fatality and three injuries. One home in the town slid off its foundation 10 yards while remaining somewhat intact. The Minden tornado was on the ground for almost 41 miles.

A​n EF2 tornado carved through parts of the south and east sides of the Des Moines, Iowa, metro, including the suburb of Pleasant Hill.

T​he National Weather Service office near Omaha issued 42 tornado warnings for their forecast area on April 26, alone.

Two other strong Oklahoma tornadoes were deadly: An EF3 tornado killed one in Sulphur, about 75 miles south-southeast of Oklahoma City. Another long-track EF3 tornado passed just west of Holdenville in Hughes County, before it tracked into Okfuskee County.

E​lsewhere in Oklahoma, EF1 tornadoes were confirmed in Norman and near Tinker AFB. An EF2 tornado spun through the west side of Ardmore.