EF2 tornado in Rankin County, Mississippi

An EF-2 tornado developed near the intersection of MS Highway 469 and Foster Road where it blew down several trees and damaged an old chicken house. Scattered tree damage continued as the tornado moved across Seventh Day Rd. and US Highway 49, with the porch of a house damaged along Summerlin Rd. The tornado strengthened and produced more focused tree damage as it crossed Albert Enoch Rd., OC Kitchens Drive, and Zekes Alley. In this area, several homes sustained minor to moderate roof damage, the walls of an outbuilding were collapsed, and the fence around a basketball court was downed. The tornado reached its peak intensity east of McLin Cir. where more prolific snapping of trees occurred. The tornado weakened and lifted as it crossed Thomasville Rd. near Johnson Place. Estimated maximum winds were 115 mph. A tornadic debris signature was observed on radar with this tornado.

An upper-level shortwave trough moving east through the Central Plains initiated a few clusters of thunderstorms that spread into Mississippi during the morning of June 18th. With an unstable air mass and strong jet stream over the region, these storms became severe and produced hail and damaging wind through the morning. An additional round of severe storms developed during the evening of the 18th and into the morning of the 19th. This even resulted in a rare June tornado outbreak. The previous record for number of June tornadoes in the state of Mississippi was 7 in 1974. A total of 15 tornadoes occurred across the state from June 18-19, 2023 - making this event a record in its own right. The tornado which occurred near Louin, MS was the first F3 or EF-3 rated tornado in the state since 1957.