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F1 tornado in Forrest County, Mississippi

Tornado March 12, 2001 · Forrest County, Mississippi

F1
Rating
7.0 mi
Path length
440 yd
Path width
5
Injuries
$6.0M
Damage as recorded
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 F1 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F1 meant moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken; the scale paired it with winds of 73–112 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

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.

Began near Hattiesburg (31.3167, -89.3167).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5238136. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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