EF3 Tornado — Lowndes, Mississippi

2019-02-23 · near Columbus, Lowndes, Mississippi

Event narrative

The tornado developed along the southwest edge of Columbus, MS near 1st Street, noted by broken small hardwood tree limbs and uprooted hardwood trees, which fell a top of a Voting Precinct single-story home. Minor roof damage to a nearby two story home also occurred. As the tornado tracked northeast across the eastern side of downtown Columbus, MS, it became evident that the storm had grown in strength a bit as streets became littered with uprooted and snapped hardwood and softwood trees, many of which had fallen on homes, causing significant roof damage. As the tornado moved along 9th street and College Street, damage was noted on top of a cell tower, where portions of the metal structure was evidently bent. By the time the tornado reached 12th Street and 4th Avenue, more extensive damage was noted by way of a brick fence along a single family home getting almost completely destroyed and additional snapped and uprooted hardwood trees. Wooden power lines were snapped near or at its base at 12th Street and 4th Avenue, where portions of the roof was loss at the nearby Canterbury Townhouses. Littered downed and snapped trees falling on top of homes persisted along the northeast side of downtown Columbus, and southward facing homes along Railroad Street had windows that were blown out. As the tornado continued along its northeast path, it intersected the Hunt Intermediate School along 10th Avenue and 20th Street resulting in significant damage to the roof, and blown out windows along the second floor. Across the street, the Park and Rec Center and Activities Center composed of metal and tin were blown in/collapsed on its entry side. Damage continued along Tuscaloosa Road by way of fence damage along the outskirts of a Loves Truck Stop and snapped softwood and hardwood trees behind the Loves Truck Stop. The First Pentecostal Church along Tuscaloosa Road had half of its tin roof blown off, and thus resulted in damage done to the inside of its worship area. At the intersection of Tuscaloosa Road and Conway Road, several manufactured buildings had most of its exterior walls and roofs caved in. The one fatality occurred at the intersection of Tuscaloosa Road and Gardner Street, where a structural sound brick building collapsed and the majority of the exterior walls were destroyed. This tornado began to weaken as it neared the Alabama state line, as several softwood medium size tree limbs and snapped softwood trees occurred north of Highway 50. This tornado lifted just as it crossed state lines into Alabama. Maximum estimated winds were 137 mph.

Wider weather episode

A strong storm system moved through the region during the day on the 23rd. Storms developed across the ArkLaMiss and brought damaging winds and hail, which produced some damage across the central portions of Mississippi. As the storms neared the Mississippi and Alabama border, two tornadoes developed in Lowndes County. One of these tornadoes was rated an EF3 and tore across the city of Columbus, producing major damage.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.4865, -88.4346)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 799239. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.