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EF2 tornado in De Soto County, Mississippi

Tornado February 5, 2008 · De Soto County, Mississippi

EF2
Rating
10.2 mi
Whole path
440 yd
Path width
3
Deaths
13
Injuries
$128.4M
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through De Soto County → Shelby County, Tennessee; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 440 yards (0.25 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 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

A tornado touched down at Southaven High School and tracked northeast crossing into Shelby County, Tennessee, northeast of the intersection of Stateline Road and Airways Boulevard. Roughly 30 windows were blown out of the High School. The school also sustained minor roof damage. Damage at the high school was classified EF-0. Many homes in the Carriage Hills subdivision sustained minor damages as well. Further northeast, more significant damage occurred near the intersection of Stateline Road and Airways Boulevard in the warehouse area. Three warehouses were destroyed including the Cooper Lighting Plant. A gas station was damaged as well. Damage was classified as EF-2 in this area. Numerous trees, power poles, and lines were knocked down. Minor roof damage occurred along the path as well.

The wider storm

A strong low pressure system tracked from Northern Arkansas into Southern Missouri during the evening hours of February 5th, 2008. Supercells developed out ahead of the system during the late afternoon into the early evening. The storms produced tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds. As the supercells moved east during the evening, a cold front moved into North Mississippi. A squall line developed along the front and produced another round of large hail and damaging winds. The front continued to push east into the overnight hours.

Began near Horn Lake Desoto Arp (34.9754, -90.0086).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 82419. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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