text: 2010 new year 's eve tornado outbreak the 2010 new year 's eve tornado outbreak was a three - day - long tornado outbreak that impacted the central and lower mississippi valley from december 30 , 2010 to january 1 , 2011 . associated with a low pressure system and a strong cold front , 37 tornadoes tracked across five states over the length of the severe event , killing nine and injuring several others . activity was centered in the states of missouri and later mississippi on december 31 . seven tornadoes were rated ef3 on the enhanced fujita scale ; these were the strongest during the outbreak . non - tornadic winds were recorded to have reached as high as 80 mph ( 130 km / h ) at eight locations on december 31 , while hail as large as 2 . 75 in ( 7 . 0 cm ) was documented north - northeast of mansfield , missouri . overall , damage from the outbreak totaled us $ 123 . 3 million , most of which was related to tornadoes . the united states storm prediction center first noted a possible new year 's eve severe weather event as early as december 25 , 2010 . these forecasts gained confidence as the event approached , with a focus on the ozarks and adjacent areas . supercells developed in this area during the night of december 30 and tracked across central missouri , producing several tornadoes and large hail . however , the bulk of activity during the outbreak was a result of a long line of supercells that tracked from oklahoma to illinois , producing five ef3 tornadoes . one of these tracked through northwestern arkansas , killing four . another tore through eastern sections of fort leonard wood in missouri , destroying 159 homes and causing us $ 90 million in damage , making it the costliest tornado of the outbreak . a separate cluster of storms later developed in louisiana before tracking into mississippi , producing several tornadoes across southern and central regions of the state on january 1 . meteorological synopsis the storm prediction center ( spc ) began to note the possibility that a severe weather event could develop on december 30 as early as december 25 , 2010 . nonetheless , the predictability of the event was too low as the event was several days out . as the anticipated event grew closer , confidence in the forecast slowly increased , though uncertainties in the timing and extent of the tornado outbreak still existed . these uncertainties remained through december 29 with forecasts calling for only marginal hail and possibly damaging gusts . however , the spc indicated that supercells and more severe weather could result from atmospheric conditions deviating slightly from the forecast . in contrast , forecasts were more confident in a widespread outbreak of severe weather for new year 's eve ; the spc issued a slight risk outlook for much of the lower mississippi valley and the ozarks as a result . atmospheric conditions remained only marginally conducive for the development of thunderstorms on the morning of december 30 . throughout the day , moisture was drawn from the gulf of mexico northward into the ozarks region . however , the presence of a capping inversion prevented thunderstorms from developing . during the evening of december 30 , an area of strong wind shear developed near the ark - la - tex and southeastern oklahoma area well ahead of a nearing cold front , providing a focal point for potential storm development . late that day , scattered thunderstorms developed over eastern oklahoma and northern arkansas , producing significant hail . over the next few hours and into december 31 , these storms would intensify as they moved into southwestern missouri , producing four tornadoes . the first tornado watch issued in association with the severe event was issued at 07 : 06 utc on december 31 as these storms tracked across the ozarks . after a few hours , these supercell thunderstorms lessened in strength as they neared the greater st. louis metropolitan area . while the cluster of thunderstorms was tracking through missouri , a new line of thunderstorms with embedded supercells developed across eastern oklahoma and kansas , demarcating a dry line boundary . although linear storm systems tend to indicate strong wind events and not tornadoes , these storms tracked eastward into southwestern missouri . a long - tracked ef3 developed from one of these supercells and struck cincinnati , arkansas . at 13 : 31 utc on december 31 , a tornado watch was issued for much of missouri and portions of arkansas and illinois . most of the tornadoes during the outbreak stemmed from this line of storms as they moved through missouri and illinois throughout the day . at around noon , a new cluster of disorganized showers formed over eastern louisiana and southern mississippi . although these storms were initially weak , they gradually intensified into supercells as the day went on . additional supercells quickly developed over louisiana and eventually spread in coverage over mississippi , resulting in the development of several tornadoes . reaching their peak strength over mississippi , the storms gradually lost their intensity as they tracked eastward late on december 31 and into january 1 , 2011 . by the morning hours of january 1 , severe activity had become restricted to the florida panhandle and southern alabama ; the last tornado watch issued in association with the 2010 new year 's eve tornado outbreak was issued for those regions at 15 : 56 utc that day . tornadoes december 30 event december 31 event january 1 event notable tornadoes cincinnati , arkansas the deadliest tornado of the 2010 new year 's eve tornado outbreak moved across extreme eastern oklahoma and northwestern arkansas , tracking 21 . 1 mi ( 34 . 0 km ) and damaging the unincorporated community of cincinnati , arkansas . the first tornado warning associated was issued at 12 : 00 utc for portions of adair county in oklahoma and benton and washington counties in arkansas by the national weather service tulsa , oklahoma . at around the same time , damaging winds estimated at around 70 mph ( 110 km / h ) tore the roof off of a barn southwest of westville , oklahoma ; these winds were likely a result of inflow caused by the developing tornado . post - tornado survey teams concluded that the tornado touched down five minutes later northeast of westville . quickly tracking northeast , the tornado snapped 13 large wooden utility poles . four cars were displaced by 20 – 50 yd ( 18 – 46 m ) and a nearby home sustained significant roof damage and broken windows ; this resulted in an ef2 rating for the tornado within adair county . damage in adair county totaled $ 60 , 000 . at 12 : 08 utc , the tornado crossed the oklahoma - arkansas border and moved into benton county , arkansas . at 12 : 10 utc , the tornado tracked into cincinnati , arkansas , where it reached its peak intensity . winds were estimated as high as 142 mph ( 229 km / h ) and the tornado widened to a width of 300 yd ( 270 m ) , making the tornado an ef3 at this location . several homes were destroyed or heavily damaged in the southwestern areas of the town . numerous trees and power poles were knocked down or uprooted . two people were killed when a mobile home was destroyed , while another person died as he was tending cattle when the barn he occupied collapsed . seven others were injured in cincinnati . the tornado continued to widen as it trekked northeastward , reaching a maximum width of 500 yd ( 460 m ) . several permanent homes were heavily damaged northeast of cincinnati , and a number of chicken houses , mobile homes , outbuildings , and power poles were destroyed . one woman was critically injured after her mobile home was destroyed ; she died of her injuries at a hospital four days later . damage in cincinnati and surrounding areas within benton county reached $ 1 . 5 million . after 12 : 17 utc , the tornado 's position fluctuated between benton and washington counties in northwestern arkansas . permanent houses were damaged and mobile homes were destroyed . numerous trees were uprooted or snapped while many other power poles were snapped . two people were injured following the destruction of a mobile home within the ozark national forest in benton county , while another person was injured west of , arkansas in washington county . the tornado finally dissipated northwest of at 12 : 27 utc after causing four deaths and ten injuries . overall , the tornado caused $ 1 . 835 million in damage , which was the sixth costliest total during the tornado outbreak . fenton – sunset hills , missouri tornado at 17 : 22 utc on december 31 , the national weather service st. louis , missouri issued a tornado warning for a severe squall line capable of producing rain - wrapped tornadoes and wind damage . the warning covered ten counties in missouri and illinois straddling the mississippi river and included st. louis . shortly after the warning 's issuance , two ef1 tornadoes tracked across jefferson and st. louis counties , causing extensive tree damage and minor property damage . however , the most destructive tornado from the passing squall line touched down at 17 : 48 utc east - northeast of murphy , missouri in northern jefferson county . initially , the tornado was an ef0 with a path width of 40 yd ( 37 m ) and lifted before touching down again just north of missouri route 30 near the jefferson - st. louis county line . small trees and minor roof damage occurred at the point of this second touch down before the tornado moved northeastward into st. louis county , where the tornado caused a bulk of its damage and was at its strongest . a large subdivision near route 30 sustained minor roof and tree damage , which was rated as ef0 intensity . however , as the tornado was intensifying through the neighborhood , three homes to the subdivision 's east suffered more considerable roof and siding damage and was assigned an ef1 damage intensity rating . the tornado then crossed missouri route 141 , where it blew a honda cr - v into a highway barrier ; the driver of the vehicle suffered critical injuries and died eleven days later from those injuries . after crossing the highway , a number of buildings were damaged including a church , elementary school , and parsonage . damage in this area was rated as ef2 due to the partial debarking of a nearby tree . minor tree damage occurred as the tornado moved through fenton park and tracked over the meramec river . after crossing the river , the tornado weakened to ef1 strength , damaging several homes while also leaving behind an interrupted damage path . the tornado crossed interstate 270 before rapidly intensifying at around 17 : 56 utc . numerous trees were uprooted while many homes sustained considerable damage . six homes were unroofed and one was destroyed and shifted from its foundation ; this damage was rated high - end ef3 . at the time , the tornado was 0 . 25 mi ( 0 . 40 km ) wide . the tornado weakened to ef1 intensity afterwards , causing more minor damage to a strip mall and several homes . six power poles were knocked down shortly before the tornado lifted at 18 : 00 utc in western crestwood , missouri . non - tornadic impacts beginning on december 29 and continuing for three days , the storm system associated with the tornado outbreak caused strong winds across the texas panhandle and eastern new mexico . the winds were further enhanced by isolated showers , and gusts peaked at 79 mph ( 127 km / h ) in tatum , new mexico . approximately 7 mi ( 11 km ) west of levelland , texas , the winds downed four power poles , sparking a fire that burned nearly 2 , 000 acres ( 800 hectares ) of grassland before it was finally contained ; the fire caused us $ 20 , 000 in damage . in allen , oklahoma , strong winds associated with one supercell caused an estimated us $ 20 , 000 in damage after damaging the carport , chimney , and roof of a house . hail and strong winds were also reported elsewhere in eastern oklahoma and southeastern kansas . widespread and damaging wind gusts and hail later crossed into northwestern arkansas , causing us $ 175 , 000 in damage . several buildings and homes were destroyed by the strong winds ; similar impacts were seen in missouri and illinois . in mississippi , rainfall totals between 1 – 4 in ( 25 – 102 mm ) were widespread . the highest precipitation total was 5 . 58 in ( 142 mm ) south of grace , mississippi . in scott county , residents were forced to evacuate out of forest and morton due to flash floods that caused $ 470 , 000 in damage . similarly , the inundation washed out roads and flooded cars in winona . overall , flood damage in mississippi amounted to us $ 1 . 135 million .