2014 Mayflower–Vilonia tornado

During the evening hours of April 27, 2014, a large and destructive high-end EF4 tornado moved through several communities northwest of Little Rock, Arkansas. The tornado, also known as the Mayflower–Vilonia tornado, and which was part of a larger outbreak of severe weather across the central and southern United States, devastated the towns of Paron, Mayflower, Lake Conway, Vilonia, and El Paso, killing sixteen people and injuring over one hundred more. The tornado retained peak wind speeds of 190 miles per hour (310 km/h) as it moved through the town of Vilonia, where eight fatalities were recorded. The tornado was on the ground for almost an hour, and traveled a total of 41.1 miles (66.1 km) along its path, reaching a peak width of 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km).

The tornado touched down near the western edge of Pulaski County, moving to the northwest before impacting Paron at EF3 intensity, killing three people and damaging several residential buildings as it moved by. The tornado continued to move to the northwest as it left the community in ruins, reaching EF4 intensity for the first time as it entered the city limits of Mayflower. The tornado produced heavy structural damage as it tore through the southern edge of the town, killing three people. The tornado later hit Vilonia, where it produced high-end EF4 damage and killed ten people. The tornado dissipated a short time later.

Following the tornado, on April 29, Faulkner County was declared a federal disaster area by President Barack Obama, who was visiting the town of Vilonia to survey the damage and speak with families of the victims. The declaration allowed residents to receive federal aid and low-cost loans to cover uninsured losses. The final rating of the tornado was a source of controversy, with some damage analysts concluding EF5 damage was plausible, and the National Weather Service office in Little Rock said it likely would’ve been rated F5 on the old Fujita scale. It was considered the catalyst for the ongoing EF5 drought as of 2025, sparking discussion within the meteorological community.