EF1 tornado in Leake County, Mississippi

This tornado began in a wooded area to the west of Highway 13 on the northwest side of Lena. A few large tree branches were snapped and a pine tree was uprooted as the tornado crossed Highway 13. Additional tree branches were snapped along with several more trees uprooted along Grand Ave. The tornado continued east crossing Ealy Road where large branches were snapped. The tornado began to intensify and widen as it crossed Storm Road where several softwood trees were snapped along with hardwoods uprooted. The tornado reached peak intensity and its widest width as it crossed the intersection of Morgan Road, Highway 500 and Drystone Road. Here, numerous trees were snapped or uprooted including the majority of trees in a stand of mature growth softwoods and hardwoods. Maximum winds were estimated to be 110mph in this stand of trees. The tornado maintained high end EF-1 strength as it crossed Lindsay Road and moved through bottom land along Tuscolameta Creek. After crossing the creek, the

tornado moved through Walnut Grove where numerous softwood and hardwood trees were either snapped or uprooted. This damage remained consistent with a high end EF-1 tornado. A gas station canopy along the southern edge of the tornadic circulation also

sustained damage. Additional trees were uprooted along Gunter Road and across farmland to the south of Old Salem Road. The tornado weakened and narrowed as it entered a large wooded area along Bilbrow Road and Lewis Road where mainly large limbs were snapped along with sporadic softwood trees uprooted. A few large limbs were snapped further east along Gomillion Road and a piece of sheet metal was peeled off a barn. The tornado dissipated in a wooded area along Hurricane Creek prior to reaching Highway 487. Maximum estimated winds were 110 miles per hour.

An outbreak of severe thunderstorms occurred on May 4th. An initial round of supercell thunderstorms that morning brought several brief tornadoes to the area along with a few instances of damaging winds. The main round of storms occurred during the afternoon in the form of an intense line of storms. Widespread wind damage occurred with embedded swaths of significant damaging winds up to 80 mph. This resulted in numerous downed trees, power lines and infrastructure damage. Seven tornadoes also occurred within the squall line.