An upper trough moved from the Four Corners region into the southern Great Plains and lower Missouri Valley during the day on March 23.

A cold front combined with the low moved across the central and southern Great Plains and was the main area where thunderstorm development would occur.

[2] During the day, a fast-moving supercell produced several tornadoes in eastern Nebraska and across the state line into the west central portion of Iowa.

[12] On March 28, a strong 997 millibar upper-level low pressure area located over Oklahoma was forecast to produce widespread thunderstorms, with a moderate risk of severe weather in most of northern Louisiana, much of Mississippi, and southern Arkansas.

A warm front was likely to develop along the leading edge of the system, allowing for atmospheric instability, a necessary component of severe thunderstorms.

[13] Later in the day, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) issued a slight risk for a large area which encompassed much of the Southeast United States.

Tornadic activity was less imminent due to lower dew points but strong wind shear was able to provide fuel for severe storms.

At 2:20 pm CST, the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma issued a tornado watch for western Kentucky, central Tennessee, and northern Alabama.

Shortly after, a tornado warning was issued around 4:30 pm CST for Union County, Kentucky as doppler radar images depicted rotation in the thunderstorm.

After causing severe damage in Corydon, the tornado continued towards the northeast before dissipating south of the Henderson County Airport around 5:00 pm.

[29] Concrete and brick structures collapsed, mobile homes were destroyed with debris wrapped around trees, and power lines were downed throughout the area.

Emergency management personnel worked to replace the batteries in all ten sirens in the days after the tornado but lacked the supplies to complete this.

The line was first noted around 3:35 am CDT in Cass County, Iowa where 61 miles per hour (98 km/h) winds were recorded at the Atlantic Municipal Airport.

Wind gusts up to 80 miles per hour (130 km/h) were recorded in the county, two barns and a horse shed were shifted off their foundation and several trees were uprooted.