EF1 tornado in Amite County, Mississippi

An NWS storm survey with additional support from a local storm report has confirmed an EF-1 tornado occurred west of Liberty, MS in Amite County. This tornado began near Berwick Cassels and Smylie Rd where minor tree damage was identified. Additional patches of increasingly more notable tree damage as wide as 175 yards occurred as the tornado tracked northeast along Smylie Rd. The tornado reached peak intensity with maximum sustained winds near 100 mph as it approached Enterprise Rd and Lower Liberty Gloster Rd where it snapped tree trunks and uprooted numerous trees. A manufactured observed minor roof damage. More tree damage from this tornado was identified where it crossed MS Hwy 24, moving northeast. A local storm report identified additional notable tree damage with a few uprooted/snapped medium to large pine trees near Rattlesnake Ln. This tornado evidently lifted near the Amite River just before reaching Old 24 Compromise Rd.

A line of strong to severe thunderstorms developed during the evening of February 14, 2026, ahead of a cold front and moved eastward across southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi overnight, maintaining organization as a QLCS with embedded circulations. The environment featured a moist and unstable airmass with increasing low-level shear, supporting the development of multiple brief tornadoes and widespread damaging winds. The first impacts occurred across southwest Mississippi late in the evening where several EF-1 tornadoes caused numerous snapped and uprooted trees, downed powerlines, and minor structural damage. As the line progressed into southeast Louisiana between late evening and the early overnight hours, additional EF-0 and EF-1 tornadoes were confirmed across East Feliciana, Ascension, St. James, Tangipahoa, Washington, Lafourche, and St. Tammany Parishes, generally producing tree damage with localized impacts to homes and infrastructure, including roof damage, a flipped RV, and snapped power poles. Widespread straight-line winds accompanied the convective line, with gusts frequently reaching 50 to 60 mph, resulting in numerous reports of downed trees, broken limbs, minor structural damage, and isolated industrial impacts, including damage to a fiberglass cooling tower in Ascension Parish. The line continued east into coastal Mississippi during the early morning hours of February 15, producing additional brief tornadoes and wind damage, while marine observations across adjacent coastal waters recorded thunderstorm wind gusts generally between 35 and 45 knots with isolated higher values.