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EF1 tornado in Madison County, Mississippi

Tornado April 18, 2008 · Madison County, Mississippi

EF1

Rating

6.0 mi

Whole path

150 yd

Path width

$100K

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Madison County → Leake County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 150 yards (0.09 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 in far eastern Madison County between Highway 16 and the Natchez Trace. The tornado tracked northeast into Leake County with a total path length of 5 miles. Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted. Maximum winds were around 105 mph.

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 Farmhaven (32.6833, -89.7482).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF1 Copiah County EF1 Hinds County EF1 Hinds County EF1 Madison County EF1 Leake County EF1 Leake County EF1 Winston County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 98214. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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