EF1 tornado in Rankin County, Mississippi

This tornado crossed the Pearl River into Rankin County, into portions of Richland as an EF-1. The tornado was much weaker at this point with mainly tree damage occurring. As the tornado moved into Pearl it strengthened again. Roof damage occurred to a movie theater and a Kroger. The roof was completely torn off a car wash. In the Pearl neighborhoods, numerous trees were knocked down and several fell on houses. Several of the houses were total losses.

The tornado then crossed Airport Road and onto the Jackson-Evers International Airport grounds, passing just south of the airport terminal. A roof was heavily damaged to a warehouse and numerous trees were knocked down. The tornado then tracked along Cooper Road, mainly downing trees. The tornado then lifted as it moved across Luckney Road, just a few miles south of Lakeland Drive. The highest estimated winds in Rankin County were 110 mph which occurred in Pearl. The tornado was on the ground for just over 12 miles in Rankin County with a total path length of 26 miles across Hinds and Rankin Counties.

A potent storm system brought a prolonged outbreak of severe thunderstorms to the Lower Mississippi Valley region from the afternoon hours of New Years Eve lasting through the morning hours of New Years Day. This rare combination of high instability and wind shear is mainly what supported the large outbreak and multiple strong tornadoes. National Weather Service storm survey teams found 11 total tornadoes which occurred during this event. Of the 11, two were EF-3 with two more EF-2. Six were EF-1 with one EF-0. Damaging straight line winds also brought numerous trees and large limbs down across the area. Large hail also occurred during the event with reports ranging from quarter to golf ball size. In addition, flash flooding was a significant issue across the area. Roads were flooded in several locations, some vehicles were submerged in flood waters, and a few evacuations took place as a result of rising flood waters.