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EF1 tornado in Carroll County, Mississippi

Tornado April 30, 2017 · Carroll County, Mississippi

EF1
Rating
41.9 mi
Whole path
1,200 yd
Path width
$6.3M
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Carroll County → Montgomery County → Montgomery County → Montgomery County → Montgomery County → Webster County → Webster County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 1,200 yards (0.68 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

This tornado started on the south side of Vaiden and tracked northeast, dissipating just to the northwest of Kilmichael. Initially, trees were snapped and uprooted along county road 28 and county road 27. The tornado then crossed Highway 51 where numerous trees were snapped or uprooted and power lines were downed. A few homes sustained minor roof damage and one had a large tree down on it. The railroad was blocked by several trees as well. The tornado then crossed Highway 35 where more trees were damaged. It then moved into a wooded area and mostly tracked south of Highway 430. A few damage locations were accessible along CR 9 where more trees were downed, but the road was blocked and the core of the tornado path was inaccessible. The Northwest edge of the tornado began to impact portions of Highway 430 a few miles before the junction with Highway 407. Here numerous trees were damaged. The tornado appeared to peak in intensity and reach its widest point near the Carroll and Montgomery County line and along Highway 407. Here, significant tree damage was noted as the tornado moved across an open field and slammed into a wooded area. Significant tree damage was noted across the field south of the highway and where it crossed Highway 407. Widespread tree damage continued across Herring Loop, Lower Bethlehem Road, and Herring School Road. Some homes were damaged by trees. Along Herring School Road, a couple sheds were destroyed along with several homes sustaining minor roof damage. A large metal I-beam shed was destroyed and thrown nearly 100 yards. As the tornado neared Kindred Road, a turn to the left was noted and it began to track more northerly. Damage to trees continued as it crossed Lewis Creek Road along with a few sheds damaged and shingles off roofs. As it crossed Highway 82 west of Kilmichael, more trees were downed along with a dozen or so power poles. Three homes had roof damage and several sheds had tin off the roof. The tornado continued just a bit farther north and dissipated just past the intersection of Mayfield and Robinson-Thompson Road. The total path length of the tornado was 15.75 miles. The maximum width of the tornado was 1.1 miles, which occurred in Montgomery County, as well as the highest wind speed of the tornado at 115 mph. The maximum estimated wind speed of the tornado in Carroll County was 100 mph.

The wider storm

During the early morning hours of April 30th, a squall line of severe thunderstorms developed across central Louisiana and pushed eastward across the ArkLaMiss. The line intensified as it approached the Mississippi River and caused wind damage and tornadoes. As the convective system evolved into Mississippi, numerous tornadoes developed along the advancing line, with the most prolific damage occurring along the track of a large meso-scale convective vortex (MCV). This feature tracked roughly from Claiborne County through western Hinds/Madison, eastern Yazoo, eastern Holmes, southeastern Carroll, Montgomery, and northwestern Webster counties. This corridor is where the most significant damage occurred, as well as one fatality. Flash flooding, hail, and other wind damage occurred as these storms moved through.

Began near Vaiden (33.3033, -89.7531).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 690577. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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