EF1 tornado in Leake County, Mississippi

The tornado began just to the west of Highway 429, snapping some trees near Koli Creek. The tornado then tracked northeast along Cooper Road. In this area, it caused heavy tree damage along the path, snapping or uprooting numerous trees. Also along this road, three chicken houses were flattened and another was damaged. A home suffered minor roof damage. The tornado crossed Waggoner Road and lifted in an adjacent wooded area. The maximum estimated wind speed was 110mph.

Widespread severe weather occurred with a mix of damaging winds, hail and several tornadoes. The focus of the severe weather was across central and southern Mississippi. This event was driven by a potent disturbance that swung across the area during the midday and afternoon hours. As this strong feature dropped into the Lower Mississippi River Valley, a surface low rapidly deepened as it tracked across central Mississippi. The atmospheric response to this was for a rapid increase in winds aloft and higher low level moisture. This combination set the stage for an unstable environment that contained high levels of wind shear which supported and sustained tornado development.