F1 Tornado — Forrest, Mississippi

2001-03-12 · near Hattiesburg, Forrest, Mississippi

Event narrative

A supercell thunderstorm produced a tornado that moved out of Walthall County into Marion County, about two miles west of Kokomo. The tornado traveled five miles to a point three miles eastnortheast of Kokomo. The next tornado touched down about two miles east of Columbia and traveled six miles to a point seven miles eastnortheast of Columbia. The next tornado touched down nine miles eastnortheast of Columbia and traveled into Lamar County to a point four miles northeast of Oak Grove. The final tornado produced by the supercell in the Jackson NWS County Warning Area touched down in the northwest part of the city of Hattiesburg and traveled across northern sections of Hattiesburg and then across the city of Petal. This tornado lifted about two miles east of Petal. Damage reports in Marion County are somewhat difficult to estimate because an earlier tornado affected portions of the county, and the severe thunderstorm that produced the first tornado in the county caused damage in the city of Columbia before the second tornadic storm moved into the county. Damage to homes in Marion County from the tornado is estimated at $700,000 with other damage in the county listed under separate storms. The total damage from the tornado in Lamar County is estimated to have been around $4.5 million. In Lamar County, the tornado destroyed five houses, 24 mobile homes, one business, and 17 farms. The tornado caused major damage to 33 houses, 30 mobile homes, one church, two businesses, and seven farms. Minor damage occurred to approximately 30 mobile homes, eight apartment units, one church, two businesses, and a farm. The total damage from the tornado in Forrest County was estimated to be around $6 million. In Forrest County, the tornado tracked through populated areas of Hattiesburg and Petal. The tornado caused major damage to 112 houses, one mobile home, eight businesses, and six vehicles. Additionally, the tornado caused minor damage to 223 houses, four mobile homes, and 21 businesses. Despite the widespread damage across three counties, no serious injuries were reported in the storms.

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Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5238136. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.