The April 2022 North American storm complex affected much of the Rocky Mountains and the Midwestern United States with tornadoes, heavy snow, and gusty winds. The system in general first began impacting the Northwest on April 11, before moving eastward into the Rocky Mountains the following day. It was also responsible for producing a large severe weather outbreak of tornadoes and damaging straight-line wind in the Midwest and South while contributing to a powerful blizzard in the upper Midwest states of North and South Dakota.
In the upper Midwest, the system brought record-breaking snowfall and blizzard conditions to North and South Dakota and adjunct states, producing up to of snowfall and knocking power out to thousands and killing at least one person. The warm side of the system also knocked power out to thousands in the South and produced 74 tornadoes, with the strongest being rated EF3, and very large hail as well. One non-tornadic death was attributed to the severe weather in the South, while another non-tornadic death occurred in North Dakota when a blizzard hit the area.
Meteorological synopsis
Signs for a severe weather outbreak, the fourth one in four weeks, became evident the day before, on April 10. The Storm Prediction Center, on their Day 2 Convective Outlook, introduced a large slight risk area, covering northeastern Texas, southeastern Oklahoma, much of Arkansas, southern portions of Missouri, and extreme western Kentucky and Tennessee. A cold front positioned itself along much of Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma, on an area with elevated moisture, leading to the rise of moderate dew points, around . This, combined with the expected daytime heating to occur over much of the Ark-La-Tex region, created an environment favorable for supercell initiation. Given this, the outlook introduced a large 5% contour for tornadoes. The following day, the risk was increased to an enhanced level, with this new area of higher probabilites for severe weather being placed along north-central Arkansas and extreme eastern Oklahoma. Given the presence of strong wind shear and CAPE values reaching 2500 J/kg in this area, a 10%, unhatched corridor for tornadoes was introduced, as the environment was poised to be more favorable for supercells to develop. As the afternoon advanced, even greater confidence grew that this corridor was even more favorable for sustained supercells, and a 10%, hatched risk for tornadoes, indicating the possibilities for strong tornadoes to occur, was issued along the same corridor in Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. Multiple supercell thunderstorms developed by the early evening, soon becoming tornadic. A couple of intense supercells produced a few tornadoes over west-central Arkansas. This included a large supercell that developed near Mayflower, Arkansas, producing a tornado that prompted the issuance of a tornado emergency. However, the tornado ended up only causing EF1 tree damage. Several other EF1 tornadoes touched down in the area that afternoon and evening as well, one of which caused considerable damage to trees, mobile homes, and outbuildings near Scranton.