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F4 tornado in Madison County, Mississippi

Tornado November 24, 2001 · Madison County, Mississippi

F4
Rating
11.5 mi
Path length
880 yd
Path width
2
Deaths
21
Injuries
$12.0M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 880 yards (0.50 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F4 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F4 meant devastating damage: well-built houses levelled; the scale paired it with winds of 207–260 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 violent tornado touched down about six miles west-southwest of the city of Madison. The touchdown point of the tornado was just south of the Fairfield subdivision, which is a large, well built subdivision of mostly brick homes. Numerous houses were seriously damaged or destroyed as the tornado, as much as one half mile wide, moved across the subdivision. Several houses in the subdivision in the direct path of the tornado were blown off of their foundations. One 25 year old woman was killed, and a pregnant woman was critically injured as the tornado destroyed their houses. The baby of the pregnant woman was delivered at the hospital and died shortly after birth. After the storm moved across the Fairfield subdivision, it continued moving northeast through several other subdivisions and large houses in the Madison and Gluckstadt communities. The tornado travelled 11.5 miles, crossing Interstate 55 before dissipating over central Madison County, about 3.5 miles south-southwest of Canton. In addition to the two deaths, a total of 21 people were injured. Damage in the county included 47 houses and seven mobile homes destroyed, 37 houses and three mobile homes with major damage, and 67 houses and three mobile homes with minor damage.

Began near Madison (32.4333, -90.2000).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5272625. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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