EF1 tornado in Amite County, Mississippi

An EF-1 tornado with peak winds of 100 mph tracked north of Peoria, MS in Amite County. The tornado began near Patterson Rd where minor tree damage was identified. This minor tree damage continued northeast becoming gradually more severe as the tornado approached Peoria Rd. Dozens of trees were snapped and uprooted near and northeast of Peoria Rd as the tornado reached its peak intensity and a width of 200 yards. The tornado tracked northeast, crossing Highway 24 and East Fork Rd. Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted along this portion of the path. Additional minor tree damage was identified beyond East Fork Rd and Pray Rd on high resolution satellite imagery as the tornado evidently weakened. Patches of tree damage continued through Bass, Barron, Brown, and Thompson roads. Another brief swath of heavier tree damage occurred north of Thompson Rd as the tornado briefly reached a second peak at EF-1 intensity. The tornado weakened again and is estimated to have lifted after crossing Tangipahoa Rd and Hwy 570 where tree damage became too sparse to be considered a coherent track.

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.