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EF1 tornado in Copiah County, Mississippi

Tornado April 18, 2008 · Copiah County, Mississippi

EF1
Rating
10.3 mi
Path length
50 yd
Path width
$120K
Damage as recorded
$150K
Crop damage
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 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

This tornado touched down along Shelby Road in northwest Copiah County. It then tracked northeast and crossed into south-central Hinds County near the Bear Lake Community. Numerous hardwood and softwood trees were snapped and uprooted. A couple mobile homes were damaged, with one destroyed. A tin roof on a home was significantly damaged as well. Maximum winds were around 110 mph. Total path length across both Copiah and Hinds Counties was 14 miles.

The wider storm

A strong storm system and cold front evolved over the region and brought first a steady area of light to moderate rain to the western half of the forecast area. As the rain shield dissipated during mid afternoon, enough instability developed and combined with increasing wind shear. These ingredients set the stage for a round of severe weather. Seven tornadoes occurred across portions of central Mississippi along with a few scattered reports of wind damage. All tornadoes were of the EF-1 variety.

Began near Myles (31.9761, -90.6927).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF1 Hinds CountyEF1 Hinds CountyEF1 Madison CountyEF1 Madison CountyEF1 Leake CountyEF1 Leake CountyEF1 Winston County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 98207. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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