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EF1 tornado in Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi

Tornado November 16, 2011 · Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi

EF1
Rating
9.6 mi
Whole path
440 yd
Path width
$300K
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Marion County → Jefferson Davis County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 440 yards (0.25 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

The tornado started in Marion County on Goss Bunker Hill Road with mostly minor tree damage. As it moved northeast, crossing Stuckey Road, more minor tree damage occurred along with home TV and radio antennas being blown down. As it moved along E. Reservoir Road, more substantial tree damage occurred along with roof damage to a few homes and mobile homes. As it continued northeast, more major tree damage occurred along with snapped power poles on Bufkin and Grice Roads. The most significant damage occurred along Bunker Hill Road where roof damage occurred to a home along with many trees snapped and uprooted. Several metal sheds were either severely damaged or destroyed. A cattle trailer was picked up and thrown approximately 200 yards. As it crossed Hwy 35, major tree damage continued where pines and hardwood trees were either snapped or uprooted. A carport was collapsed at a residence near Bryant Road. The tornado continued northeast crossing Robbins and F. Mcneese Road where mainly tree damage occurred. As the tornado crossed S Williamsburg Road, the roof of a newly built barn was torn off along with major tree damage. As it continued northeast from there, mostly tree damage occurred until it ended near Gates Road, just south of Hwy 42 in Jefferson Davis County. Maximum wind speeds were estimated at 100 mph.

The wider storm

During the early morning hours of November 16, a supercell thunderstorm tracked across the south-central and southeastern portions of Mississippi producing three tornadoes. Actually, this particular cell was responsible for two other tornadoes, one in southeast Louisiana and another in west-central Alabama. This activity occurred as an upper level disturbance moved over the region and combined with increasing wind shear and instability. Initially the storm activity associated with this disturbance was rather weak. However, after 3 am, there was a resurgence in activity, and storms intensified across southeast Louisiana, and southern and southeast Mississippi. The storm that produced all the damage developed in a location where instability and high wind shear were maximized. The result was a cyclic supercell that produced several tornadoes. Across the NWS Jackson service area, three tornadoes impacted four counties: Marion, Jefferson Davis, Jones, and Jasper. Two of the tornadoes were rated EF1 and the other rated EF2. Nearly two dozen structures were damaged or destroyed by these tornadoes and 15 people were injured.

Began near Bassfield (31.4296, -89.7624).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 353320. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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