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EF1 tornado in Hancock County, Mississippi

Tornado March 27, 2009 · Hancock County, Mississippi

EF1

Rating

7.0 mi

Path length

200 yd

Path width

$20K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A National Weather Service storm survey indicated that a tornado traveled along a 7 mile long path in Hancock County. The tornado caused substantial damage to the roof of a church on Highway 603 and to a large outbuilding south of Necaise. The debris from large trees blocked Highway 603, Highway 43, and Highway 53.

The wider storm

Several episodes of widespread severe weather and heavy rainfall occurred from March 26th through the 28th as a series of strong upper air disturbances impacted the central gulf region as a meandering and nearly stationary frontal boundary drifted back and forth across the area.

Began near Sellers (30.5963, -89.4057).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

2 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF1 Amite County EF0 Jackson County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 160970. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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