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EF2 tornado in Bolivar County, Mississippi

Tornado March 27, 2021 · Bolivar County, Mississippi

EF2

Rating

2.9 mi

Path length

50 yd

Path width

$250K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 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

An EF-2 tornado developed just southwest of the intersection of Sixteenth Section Road and US Highway 61 on the southeast side of Shelby. The tornado tracked northeast, crossed Highway 61, and significantly damaged a home - removing the roof and collapsing an exterior wall. It continued to the northeast and destroyed five empty grain bins along Parchman Road. Several trees lost large branches, and one hardwood tree was uprooted. The tornado continued to the northeast and dissipated in a field north of Parchman Road. Estimated peak wind speed was 120 mph.

The wider storm

A few isolated thunderstorms developed during the afternoon of March 27th, but a line of strong to severe thunderstorms moving across the northern half of Mississippi brought more intense severe weather later that evening into the early morning hours of the 28th. Tornadoes and damaging straight line winds accompanied the overnight storms.

Began near Shelby (33.9369, -90.7536).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF0 Bolivar County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 957608. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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