EF2 tornado in Clarke County, Mississippi

This tornado touched down over the Hesler-Noble Airfield and quickly moved northeast across Hillcrest Drive and into downtown Laurel. Through town, the tornado produced a continuous path of snapped and uprooted trees, broken tree limbs, and minor structural damage to homes and businesses. As it crossed North 16th Avenue, it produced more significant damage to several businesses and a hotel, including briefly lifting the roof of the Super 8, collapsing portions of a small strip mall and standalone office building, and causing damage to the exterior and roofing of the Piggly Wiggly. A semi-truck and flatbed trailer carrying automobiles were also overturned in this area. The tornado continued to damage or blow down trees as it passed through the neighborhoods and the warehouse district of downtown, with several trees falling onto and damaging homes and cars. The Nora Davis Magnet School sustained heavy roof damage and a nearby home lost its entire roof and carport as the tornado crossed Interstate 59 and moved east of Laurel. It was in this area that the most intense damage occurred and was rated at EF3. A few electrical transmission trusses were collapsed, and the Wade Services manufacturing plant took a direct hit and experienced a total collapse of its structures. The tornado remained east of US Highway 11 as it crossed through Erata and Sandersville, causing a continuous path and uprooted trees. It briefly passed through the far northwestern corner of Wayne County northwest of Eucutta and then crossed into southern Clarke County near County Road 230. Damage to many trees and a few homes occurred as it continued northeast across US Highway 45 and into Alabama where MS Highway 18 meets the state line near Hinton, Alabama. Two mobile homes in southern Clarke County were rolled and severely damaged, and two single family homes in the county experienced severe roof damage. Residents in both mobile homes received advance warning of the tornado and were able to shelter in another location before it hit. The tornado continued into Alabama before it dissipated. Maximum winds were 140 mph. Total path length was 51.48 miles in Mississippi and 61.34 miles in total.

A well defined, positively-tilted trough existed across the Southern Plains and at the surface, a cold front was progressing across Arkansas and Louisiana, while an intensifying area of low pressure propagated northeast along the boundary. Discrete supercells developed in the morning on December 16 and moved northeast, spawning multiple strong tornadoes over northeast Louisiana and south Mississippi. These storms produced a total of 10 tornadoes.