F2 tornado — Lauderdale County, Mississippi

F2 tornado in Lauderdale County, Mississippi

Tornado December 16, 2000 · Lauderdale County, Mississippi

Rating

12.0 mi

Path length

440 yd

Path width

Injuries

$2.1M

Damage as recorded

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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 F2 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F2 meant considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted; the scale paired it with winds of 113–157 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

An F2 tornado caused major damage in the Marion and Dalewood Shore Lake communities, northeast of Meridian. Two houses and thirteen mobile homes were destroyed. Eleven houses and twelve mobile homes received major damage. Thirty-three houses and twenty-two mobile homes received minor damage. Three businesses were destroyed and one business had minor damage. Thousands of trees were blown down or snapped off, and numerous power poles and power lines were also downed. Seventeen people were injured, including one in critical condition.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5178380. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

F2 tornado in Lauderdale County, Mississippi

What the National Weather Service wrote

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