F3 tornado — Simpson, Smith and Jasper County, Mississippi

F3 tornado in Simpson, Smith and Jasper County, Mississippi

Tornado November 27, 1994 · Simpson, Smith and Jasper County, Mississippi

Rating

40.0 mi

Path length

200 yd

Path width

Deaths

$2.0M

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F3 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F3 meant severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned; the scale paired it with winds of 158–206 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

This tornado touched down 1 mile northwest of Magee in Simpson County moved northeast and moved into Smith County, 4 miles southwest of Cohay, at 2225CST. The tornado moved across Smith County and moved into Jasper County, 4 miles west of Louin, at around 2300CST. The tornado lifted at 2315CST 3 miles south of Baxter. The most intense segment of this tornado (F3) was when it moved across the north portions of Magee. Forty to fifty houses or mobile homes had major damage. Two people were killed in Magee when a large tree fell across their mobile home. Most of the damage in Smith County was to trees and power lines. In Jasper County, several chicken houses were destroyed around Montrose and most other damage as to trees. The tornado was weaker in Smith and Jasper counties and ranged from F0-F1. F38M M02M

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 10332982. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

F3 tornado in Simpson, Smith and Jasper County, Mississippi

What the National Weather Service wrote

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