EF1 Tornado — Amite, Mississippi

2024-12-28 · near Bewelcome, Amite, Mississippi

Event narrative

A tornado downed several pine trees along New Hope Rd in a clearly convergent pattern. A few small pine trees were also snapped. Additional satellite analysis revealed the path extended both to the southwest and northeast making up a 3 mile path over largely inaccessible, densely forested areas of Amite County. True color satellite imagery showed similar patches of uprooted and snapped softwood trees along the path, but the ground survey was unable to access any other parts of the path of this tornado so the rating is based off the accessible damage on New Hope Road.

Wider weather episode

On December 28, 2024, a potent storm system traversed the southeastern United States, significantly impacting southeastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, and adjacent coastal waters. The Storm Prediction Center had issued a moderate risk (level 4 out of 5) for severe weather in these areas, anticipating the development of supercell and QLCS thunderstorms capable of producing strong tornadoes and damaging wind gusts. Meteorologically, a pronounced shortwave trough advanced eastward, interacting with a moist and unstable air mass characterized by surface dew points in the upper 60s to lower 70s Fahrenheit. This setup resulted in high convective available potential energy (CAPE) values between 1500 and 2000 J/kg and substantial low-level wind shear, fostering an environment conducive to severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. Throughout the day and into the evening, multiple tornadoes were reported across the region, leading to significant structural damage, particularly in parts of southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi. In addition to tornadoes, these storms produced straight-line winds exceeding 70 mph, causing widespread power outages and hazardous conditions on both land and coastal waters. The severe weather threat persisted into the night as the storm system continued its eastward progression.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (31.2300, -90.9800)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1228618. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.