Tornado outbreak of April 2–3, 1982 facts for kids
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The tornado outbreak of April 2-3, 1982 was a time when many powerful tornadoes hit the central United States. This event happened on Friday, April 2, and continued into Saturday, April 3, 1982. A tornado outbreak means that several tornadoes form from the same large storm system over a short period.
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How the Storms Began
On Friday, April 2, very strong thunderstorms called "supercells" started to form. These storms appeared across northeast Texas and southeastern Oklahoma. Supercells are special thunderstorms that can create tornadoes.
First Powerful Tornadoes
One of these supercells produced an F5 tornado in Speer and Broken Bow, Oklahoma. The "F" in F5 stands for the Fujita scale, which measures how strong a tornado is. An F5 tornado is the strongest kind, with winds over 261 miles per hour (420 km/h). Luckily, no one died from this F5 tornado.
However, another strong tornado, an F4, hit Paris, Texas. An F4 tornado has winds between 207 and 260 miles per hour (333–418 km/h). Sadly, this tornado caused ten people to lose their lives.
Storms Spread Across States
Later on Friday evening, the same supercells that caused tornadoes in Texas and Oklahoma moved into Arkansas. These storms caused more deaths in Arkansas.
Tornadoes in Missouri
The state of Missouri also experienced many tornadoes during this time. In total, 13 tornadoes were reported in Missouri. More tornadoes kept forming between 8:00 PM on Friday, April 2, and 3:00 PM on Saturday, April 3.
Impact of the Outbreak
The tornado outbreak of April 2-3, 1982, was a very serious event. In total, 29 people died because of the storms. Also, 383 people were injured across the affected states.
