The tornado, which was part of a larger outbreak of severe weather across the central and southern United States, devastated the towns of Paron, Mayflower, Lake Conway, Vilonia, and El Paso, killing sixteen people and injuring over one hundred more.

The tornado continued to move to the northwest as it left the community in ruins, reaching EF4 intensity for the first time as it entered into the city limits of Mayflower.

A strong mid-level shortwave trough developed into a closed low-pressure area as the system occluded over the central High Plains on April 27, 2014.

[1] At 7:06 p.m. CDT (0006 UTC), the tornado touched down in western Pulaski County, roughly 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Paron, and tracked north-northeast.

On the northeast side of the subdivision, one person was killed after debris struck the door of her storm shelter and opened it, exposing her to the tornado.

Near where this fatality took place, large concrete road barriers were blown over and moved, and calculations revealed that this was also likely indicative of EF4 intensity.

Continuing northeast, the storm tore across the south edge of Mayflower and crossed AR 365 and I-40, tossing semi-trucks, cars, and road equipment from the highway.

A recreational vehicle dealership on the other side of the highway was completely destroyed at EF4 intensity (though meteorologist/civil engineer Tim Marshall applied an EF3 rating at this location due to structural flaws), along with most of the RVs; three of which were found wrapped around a nearby billboard.

[7] The tornado then crossed Lake Conway, downing numerous trees and causing a mixture of EF2 and EF3 damage to homes along the lakeshore.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission lost a clubhouse, shop, horse barn, residence, metal carports, shower house, and several dog kennels in this area, and eventually removed 627 tons of tornado debris from the lake.

[9] The EF4 tornado first struck the recently built Vilonia Middle School, destroying the top floor and causing most walls to collapse.

[2] With winds estimated as high as 190 mph (310 km/h) and the circulation spanning 3⁄4 mi (1.2 km),[10] the tornado moved through the town center.

Numerous homes and businesses were destroyed with only piles of granulated debris or bare slabs left behind, and vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards and mangled beyond recognition, some of which were crushed into small balls or stripped down to their frames.

The crumpled remains of a 29,998-pound metal fertilizer tank was found behind the destroyed strip mall, nearly 3⁄4 mi (1.2 km) away from where it originated.

A large metal arena building and a mobile home were destroyed in that area, with a few other structures sustaining EF1 damage nearby.

[32] The new scale accounts for homes that use cut nails instead of anchor bolts, which do not effectively provide resistance against violent tornadoes.

However, meteorologist/civil engineer Timothy P. Marshall noted in his survey of the damage that the rating assigned was "lower bound", and despite the presence of construction flaws, this doesn't rule out "the possibility that EF5 winds could have occurred.

However, an inspection of the context surrounding the house revealed that small trees in a ditch near the home were still standing, and that the residence had possibly been pummeled by heavy debris from downtown Vilonia, exacerbating the level of destruction.