A relatively widespread, damaging, and deadly tornado outbreak struck the central and southern United States in late April 2014.

[4] This event was the first major tornado outbreak to hit the United States in 2014; it covered a large swath from Nebraska to Louisiana, Illinois to Florida, and Oklahoma to North Carolina.

[6] 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.

[3] The first significant tornado of the outbreak touched down over an open field at 5:29 p.m. CDT (2229 UTC) on April 27 to the southwest of Quapaw, Oklahoma and caused EF0 damage to a ranch.

[9] The storm continued northeast and crossed the Oklahoma–Kansas state line, causing EF1-strength damage to outbuildings and downing trees and power poles.

It soon moved directly through the town of Baxter Springs at high-end EF2 strength, where many homes and businesses lost their roofs, several of which had their exterior walls collapse.

Meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Tulsa later stated that radar signatures showed no signs of a tornado until it was already over the town and by the time the warning was issued, it had moved into Kansas.

[13] The warning for Baxter Springs came only minutes before the tornado struck the city, catching residents off-guard and forcing them to scramble for shelter.

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.

[16] 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.

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

This violent, rain wrapped, and long-tracked wedge tornado tracked across northern Mississippi and through the town of Louisville on the evening of the 28th, killing 10 people, injuring over 80 and leaving major damage in its wake.

The tornado touched down in Leake County, initially snapping numerous trees at EF1 intensity as it moved through heavily forested areas.

Continuing northeast, the tornado reintensified dramatically and reached EF3 strength as it heavily damaged or destroyed several homes and metal chicken houses.

Slightly further along the path, a large area of trees along Hartness Rd sustained extreme denuding and debarking, with only stubs of the largest branches remaining.

[22] The tornado re-intensified as it continued sharply northeastward into the south side of Louisville at EF3 strength, destroying numerous homes in residential areas.

The tornado then re-attained EF4 strength as it completely destroyed three large factories in an industrial area of town, including a Georgia-Pacific plywood plant.

The tornado then passed through a wooded area and across the east edge of town, striking the Winston County Medical Center in the process.

Continuing north of town, the tornado caused EF2 and EF3-strength damage to homes, trees, and power poles before dissipating in a wooded area near MS 25.

[30] The tornado then struck the South Lincoln Elementary school around 8:14 p.m. CDT (0114 UTC),[29] destroying a large portion of its roof, and caused EF2 damage to two nearby homes.

Widespread flash flooding took place in several counties, inundating homes and causing rivers to surge to near-record levels.

[38] Across Escambia County, Florida, emergency crews were unable to respond to 9-1-1 calls as flood waters blocked off numerous roads.

[35] Around 11:00 p.m. CDT on April 30, a natural gas explosion occurred at the Escambia County Central Booking and Detention Center, killing at least 2 people and injuring 185 others.

[42] As the storm complex slowly moved eastward, much of the Eastern United States was affected by steady, heavy rain, bringing the worst flooding in the region since Hurricane Irene.

[45] The Rocky Gorge Reservoir in Maryland swelled above its banks and threatened to collapse as water began seeping through joints in the Duckett Dam, eroding soil.

[45] In the Charles Village neighborhood of Baltimore, a street collapsed along an embankment above a CSX rail line, covering the tracks and taking several cars with it.

[47] A landslide in Yonkers, New York, south of the Glenwood station, interfered with Metro-North's Hudson Line, blocking two tracks and causing delays.

[59] On April 30, freight rail on the CSX line north from Baltimore was interrupted, perhaps for days, when an unstable retaining wall in the Charles Village section of the city collapsed, sending several automobiles off the road into the railway gully.