F3 Tornado — Jefferson, Mississippi

2004-11-23 to 2004-11-24 · near Fayette, Jefferson, Mississippi

Event narrative

This tornado touched down just west of the Natchez Trace, 8 miles west of Fayette and tracked northeast for 18 miles across Jefferson county. Between the Natchez Trace and highway 553 the tornado was in its early stages and produced F0 damage by downing several trees. Between highway 553 and US Highway 61 this tornado began to intensify and downed or snapped hundreds of trees. One mobile home and two sheds sustained minor damage as they were located on the northern edge of the circulation. As it approached US Highway 61, it moved through an open field and was at its widest point, 600 yards. Here a string of seven power poles were snapped and a large tractor shed was destroyed. The frame of the shed was made of large I-beams. These beams were snapped from their base as the shed was blown away. In the area around US Highway 61 four homes sustained major roof damage. On the east side of the highway one of these homes lost almost the entire roof and had every window blown out. For a three mile stretch between US Highway 61 and highway 552 the tornado was at its strongest and produced F3 damage. Every tree in the forest, along this stretch, was uprooted or snapped. The tornado began to weaken after passing across highway 552 and dissipated just on the other side of the Claiborne county line.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (31.7167, -91.2000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5425217. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.