On the heels of a significant tornado outbreak just a few days prior, another potent upper-level trough progressed eastward and served as the impetus for widespread, damaging thunderstorms.

On April 13, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) outlined a broad swath of the Central United States for the potential for severe thunderstorms four days later.

[2] The general threat area was further expanded on April 14, and a heightened risk was introduced from eastern Texas northward into Iowa, indicative of higher confidence of a severe weather outbreak.

Sporadic large hail and landspout tornado reports were received before the storms congealed into a line,[6] transitioning the main severe threat to damaging wind gusts.

[12] Embedded circulations and semi-discrete supercell structures within this complex led to 44 confirmed tornadoes, the strongest of which caused high-end EF2 damage in Morton, Mississippi.

[14] As the squall line tracked east, numerous reports of damaging wind gusts were received across the Southeast United States.

[23] Into the evening, a loss of daytime heating led to a diminishing of the severe weather potential as thunderstorms shifted eastward into the Atlantic Ocean.