The tornado destroyed many structures and wind turbines across its path that stretched through Page, Taylor, Adams, and Adair counties, while also causing more than $31 million in property damage, killing five people and injuring 35 more.

The tornado reached peak intensity within Greenfield, with National Weather Service surveyors denoting maximum wind speeds estimated at 185 mph (298 km/h).

Over the next 48 minutes, the tornado was be observed by multiple storm chasers and research teams, who would determine the extreme wind figure from a direct radar measurement above the city of Greenfield.

[3] Early on that morning, convective storms along bow echo associated with an outflow boundary existed over western Nebraska and were expected to move eastward through the southern third of Iowa, bringing a small risk of surface-based severe weather.

This airmass was expected to be increasingly conducive for severe weather as the afternoon progressed, especially in east-central to southeastern Nebraska and west-central to southwestern Iowa.

Strong ascent brought by the shortwave caused likely elevated convection over the central Nebraska/Kansas border, but as storms approached the southeastern Nebraska/southwestern Iowa airmass, it was expected to transition to a more surface-based storm mode, with the primary hazards being fast-moving supercells capable of producing severe wind gusts up to 70 mph (110 km/h), large to very large hail, and tornadoes.

[7] The tornado would first touch down at the intersection of 110th Street and Vine Avenue in rural Page County, Iowa at 2:57 p.m. Central Daylight Time (UTC–5).

Across Page County, damage up to EF1 intensity occurred, restricted primarily to tree branches, while the roof of a farm outbuilding was torn off.

[8] The tornado then crossed into Adair County, still with multiple-vortex characteristics,[8] while downing a wind turbine[10] and a metal truss tower.

The tornado then moved back over open terrain, inflicting damage to an outbuilding, which was rated EF1, before downing more wind turbines.

Right before entering Greenfield, the tornado passed over Nodaway Park Ponds where two outbuildings were destroyed, and another home suffered roof damage at EF2 intensity.

Many other homes suffered extensive roof and exterior wall damage, and many large trees were snapped and stubbed, including some that landed on and contributed to houses being leveled.

[16] The tornado was rated as a mid-range EF4 with wind speeds estimated at 185 mph (298 km/h), reaching a peak width of 1,300 yards (1,200 m) along an 42.38-mile (68.20 km) path, remaining on the ground for 48 minutes.

[17] Storm chaser Reed Timmer captured close-range drone footage of the tornado destroying multiple wind turbines over rural Iowa.

[19] Chicago & Midwest Storm Chasers released a video of an aerial drone survey of Greenfield shortly after the tornado struck.

"[26] The most intense damage produced by the tornado was surveyed around 12:17 p.m. on May 22 by the National Weather Service office in Des Moines, Iowa, which was an engineered or well constructed residence that was destroyed with its slab swept clean.

[27] After the Flexible Array of Radars and Mesonets team released their extreme wind estimate, which disagreed with their survey, Yahoo News reached out to various individuals for comment about the Enhanced Fujita scale and damage in Greenfield.

[29] In addition to radar data, across the street from the Adair County Memorial Hospital, an analysis by mechanical engineer Ethan Moriarty noted that the tornado ripped new concrete parking lot stop blocks from the ground, which were installed sometime after August 2023.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration outlines increasing meteorological lead time as aiding in their strategic goal to reduce losses of life and economic damages from severe weather events.

[32] FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell, who had been working with a team in Minden, another rural Iowa community that was impacted by an EF3 tornado weeks prior, visited Greenfield on May 23 alongside Reynolds to assess damage and determine whether or not the area qualified for federal assistance, with Reynolds submitting an application for an expedited presidential disaster declaration the day prior.

[42] By November 2024, six months following the tornado, the Greater Greenfield Community Foundation, a group intending to assist residents of the city recover, had raised a total of $1 million (2024 USD).

Jeremy Cooper, the emergency manager of Adair County, stated that 51 building permits had been issued, with 34 homes under active construction.