Thunderstorm Wind — Marion, Mississippi

2023-05-05 · near Columbia, Marion, Mississippi

Event narrative

Trees fell and caused damage to 3 homes in Columbia.

Wider weather episode

A damaging straight line wind event resulted in an approximately 80 mile long swath of damage extending from near Hazlehurst southeast through New Hebron, Sumrall, and into the Hattiesburg area. Destructive winds were widespread and encompassed an area 5 to 6 miles wide at times, with most debris laid northwest to southeast or west to east along the extent of the swath. The squall, a bowing line segment that developed around midday and persisted into the afternoon, initially produced damage in Copiah County northwest of Hazlehurst where numerous trees were downed. Some roof damage occurred in this area with tarps on a few residences. As the high winds moved across Hazlehurst some roof damage was noted to businesses across town with trees and branches blown down. Mostly tree and vegetative damage occurred to the southeast including across MS Highway 27 as the storm moved across the southwestern corner of Simpson County and into Lawrence County. Entering New Hebron, the winds intensified with widespread tree fall across town and at least minor damage to most buildings' roofs. It was in the New Hebron area where the most widespread damage occurred. An older barn was shifted off its foundation, and numerous tin roofs were peeled. Hundreds of trees were downed, and wind gusts were estimated to be as high as 90 mph in this area. The damage diminished east of town into Jefferson Davis County, with minimal damage observed along MS Highway 13 where winds may have briefly fallen below severe limits. Winds increased again as the core of the storm moved into Covington County, and numerous trees were blown down along US Highway 84 and southeastward in the areas near the Bouie River. Several outbuildings had roof damage, and tree fall was extensive. As the stronger winds approached Sumrall, damage notably increased particularly in a narrow corridor near Lott Town Road and New Hope Road. In these areas tree fall was more consolidated, and damage occurred to numerous outbuildings. A chicken house was destroyed with most of the roof and a portion of the wall blown away. Three other chicken houses in the vicinity sustained damage. Swaths of large oaks were completely uprooted, and several pines were snapped. Some homes sustained roofing damage including one garage door that appeared to have suffered wind damage. This area likely experienced the highest winds of the event, with gusts estimated to have reached a maximum of 100 mph. The damage path continued southeast but gradually diminished through Hattiesburg, with mostly minor structural damage observed in town and the tree fall density diminishing into southern Forrest County. Of note, some of the most intense damage was co-located with the left-hand edge of an apparent cyclically surging outflow, likely the rear flank downdraft of cyclically apparent supercell structures. These narrow zones of slightly higher damage showed some evidence of cyclonic turning and convergence which suggests mesoscale vortex generation was likely.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (31.2600, -89.8200)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1106705. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.