EF1 Tornado — Winston, Mississippi

2008-04-18 · near Louisville, Winston, Mississippi

Event narrative

This tornado touched down just on the southern side of Louisville and tracked northeast across the eastern side of the city and dissipated about 6 miles northeast of town. Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted along the path. Seven homes sustained significant damage as well as the Island Plaza apartments. The Georgia Pacific Paper Company building was badly damaged as well as damage to a school bus barn. Maximum winds were around 110 mph.

Wider weather episode

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.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.0903, -89.0711)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 98642. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.