Thunderstorm Wind — Attala, Mississippi

2023-06-14 · near Boyette, Attala, Mississippi

Event narrative

High downburst winds from a supercell thunderstorm caused a swath of damage to trees and power lines with estimated speeds of 80 to 90 mph focused across central portions of Attala County. Numerous trees were blown down in the Kosciusko area and on MS Highway 35 north and south of the city. A tree fell onto a vehicle southwest of the city along MS Highway 14.

Wider weather episode

Convergence of moisture along a stationary front in northern Mississippi triggered thunderstorms during the day on June 14th. With an unstable air mass south of the front and a strong jet stream over the frontal zone sustaining robust updrafts, these storms quickly became severe and moved east-southeast across portions of Mississippi through the morning of the 15th. Storms produced hail as large as 4.88 inches near Brooksville, which when measured was just below the record 5.0 inches for the state of Mississippi. Swaths of hail and wind damaged crops in addition to homes, trees, and power lines.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.0550, -89.8250)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1146042. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.