What the record says
On 24 April 2002, a tornado touched down near Poplar Bluff, Missouri. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 40.5 miles long and up to 650 yards wide, rated F4 on the Fujita (F) scale. It injured 16 people.
- F4Fujita rating
- 0deaths
- 16injuries
- 40.5 mipath length
- 650 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 4 or 5.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
The start point was at 37.00, -91.02 and the end point at 36.80, -90.33 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in Missouri
- Joplin, Missouri tornado22 May 2011, EF5, 158 deaths, 1,150 injuries, 21.6 miles long
- Overland Park, Kansas tornado20 May 1957, F5, 44 deaths, 207 injuries, 69.4 miles long
- Welch, Oklahoma tornado10 May 2008, EF4, 21 deaths, 350 injuries, 75.5 miles long
- St. Louis, Missouri tornado10 February 1959, F4, 21 deaths, 345 injuries, 23.9 miles long
- Cooter, Missouri tornado21 March 1952, F4, 17 deaths, 100 injuries, 6.5 miles long
- Bay, Arkansas tornado10 December 2021, EF4, 8 deaths, 14 injuries, 81.2 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 2002
- Fayette, Alabama tornado10 November 2002, F3, 7 deaths, 53 injuries, 72.6 miles long
- Oakdale, Tennessee tornado10 November 2002, F3, 7 deaths, 28 injuries, 8.3 miles long
- Wren, Ohio tornado10 November 2002, F4, 4 deaths, 17 injuries, 52.8 miles long
- Fayette, Alabama tornado10 November 2002, F3, 4 deaths, 38 injuries, 44.3 miles long
- Crossville, Tennessee tornado10 November 2002, F3, 4 deaths, 18 injuries, 12.2 miles long
All tornadoes of 2002 · Missouri tornado history · All notable tornadoes