In the afternoon and early evening hours of May 10, 2008, a large and violent tornado moved through Eastern Oklahoma and western Missouri, striking the communities of Picher, Quapaw, Racine and Granby.

The tornado extensively damaged Picher, collapsing wooden buildings and loft several cars while tracking through the southeast portions of the town.

The tornado then crossed state lines into Missouri, hitting Racine and killing several people in mobile homes and other poorly-built structures.

Two FedEx planes at the Piedmont Triad International Airport were pitched off the tarmac as the storm lifted near the area.

[3][4] The following day, a new wave of tornadoes from a second system affected portions of the southern Plains and the Lower-Mississippi Valley.

Helicity levels were over 250 m2/s2, and a moderate risk of severe storms was issued for a large portions of the Mississippi Valley as well as the Eastern Plains as a result.

[5] Tornado watches extended from eastern Oklahoma to South Carolina and north to near Kansas City.

Twenty blocks of the town suffered extensive damage with houses and businesses destroyed or flattened, and some swept away.

The tornado continued eastward, passing just north of Quapaw and Peoria before crossing Interstate 44 into Missouri.

[13] Most of the fatalities in Missouri were reported near the Racine community at the intersection of Route 43 and Iris Road, northwest of Neosho, where automobiles were thrown as far as 1⁄2 mile (800 m) away.

Governor Henry and as well as US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff visited the tornado-ravaged area in the following days.

Before the tornado hit the town, the government had planned to buy-out homes in the area which was the site of a large zinc mine.

[26] Marshall noted that the failure and collapse of exterior walls was unusually common in homes that were hit by the tornado.

In Barry County, several buildings were damaged including numerous houses, a church, four mobile homes and many outbuildings.