EF1 tornado in Newton County, Mississippi

This EF-1 tornado began northeast of the town of Decatur and did mainly tree damage. Pines had been uprooted and large branches had been broken. Tin was peeled off the roof of a barn as well. The tornado then produced more intense tree damage in a concentrated corridor and knocked down power poles. It continued to snap and uproot softwood trees as it moved eastward. A carport was shifted and roof damage was evident on a home. As it moved east, it encountered another home and peeled tin off of about 40% of the roof. The tornado crossed into Lauderdale County shortly after it crossed HWY 491. As it moved into the town of Collinsville, it encountered a subdivision where minor tree and shingle damage was noted. It moved right through the center of Collinsville where more intense damage was noted. The roof of a car wash was folded upward in half and hardwood trees were snapped and splintered. A pine tree was felled onto a home which resulted in roof and awning damage. The tornado then approached Okatibbee Lake, with uprooted pines noted in a concentrated corridor. Damaged pines were also visible through camera across the lake. The tornado crossed the lake and then continued to damage mainly pines in Okatibbee park, with damage to the park station noted. It continued to do minor tree damage and damaged a barn and a carport as it jogged northeast. It dissipated shortly after it crossed Gum Log Road. Its maximum wind speed was 95 mph and total path length 17 miles across parts of Newton and Lauderdale counties.

An active weather pattern set the stage for a couple rounds of severe weather in mid February. A large upper trough was situated over the Rockies and associated surface lows moved through and just north of the area. This pattern supported thunderstorms across southern portions of the area which produced wind damage and a few tornadoes on February 12th. A more potent system impacted the area on February 15th where more widespread severe weather unfolded.