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EF1 tornado in Choctaw County, Alabama

Tornado December 16, 2019 · Choctaw County, Alabama

EF1

Rating

61.2 mi

Whole path

300 yd

Path width

Injuries

$1.2M

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Jones County, Mississippi → Wayne County, Mississippi → Clarke County, Mississippi → Choctaw County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 300 yards (0.17 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

Tornado moved into Choctaw County AL from Clarke County MS along CR 20. Several softwood trees were snapped and hardwoods uprooted along CR 20. As the tornado moved northeast, tree damage continued along Hinton Rd and Faith Rd in the Hinton community. Minor roof damage occurred to a home along Hinton road and a single wide modular home was flipped on its side and heavily damaged. The track continued

northeast across Rock Gap Rd and eventually across Mt. Nebo Rd where

numerous hard and softwoods were uprooted or snapped. A roof of a two

story home was partially removed along Highway 10 and several large

hardwood trees were uprooted. The tornado crossed highway 10 where it

lifted just west of Ruffintown Rd. The damage along the Choctaw County

portion of the track was consistent with a high end EF-1.

This tornado is a continuation of a track that began in Jones County

MS and produced EF-3 damage in Laurel. Based on information from NWS

Jackson, the tornado tracked a total of 51 miles from Jones County

northeast into Clarke County MS. The tornado continued an additional

10 miles in Choctaw County AL before lifting.

The wider storm

A strong storm system moved across the southeastern states during the day. Severe thunderstorms developed ahead of this system and moved across the area through the late afternoon and evening hours. This system produced a long track tornado that began in Jones County Mississippi and moved into Choctaw County Alabama. The damage along the Choctaw County portion of the track was consistent with a high end EF-1.

Began near Hinton (32.0877, -88.4489).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 866793. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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