NWS Jackson, MS December 23, 2014 Tornadoes

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Columbia EF-3 Tornado

Click on map above to see entire damage point notation and damage pictures at select points.

Event Summary
This tornado first touched down just east of the Pearl River just south of Columbia. It quickly became strong and moved northeast impacting the southeast side of Columbia. The tornado remained on the ground through Marion County before lifting as it approached the Lamar County line.

Numerous businesses, homes, mobile homes, a National Guard building and power poles and lines were heavily damaged or destroyed by the tornado. One well-built home was mostly destroyed and nearly reduced to a slab. This home received the highest damage rating. Extensive tree damage also occurred along the path of the storm.

One fatality occurred in a mobile home park where several mobile homes were destroyed. A second fatality occurred in a damaged strip mall.

Rating: (Click for EF Scale)	EF-3
Estimated Maximum Wind:	165 mph
Fatalities/Injuries:	Deaths: 3 Injured: 50
Damage Path Length:	12 miles
Maximum Path Width:	1/2 mile
Approximate Start Point/Time:	2 S Columbia 2:20 pm
Approximate End Point/Time:	3 ESE Improve 2:36 pm

Radar Imagery
These images from the Slidell Doppler radar show the storm at 2:23 pm as it moved along the bypass on the southeast side of Columbia. The image on the left shows 0.5° base reflectivity data, and the image on the right shows 0.5° storm relative velocity data. Click on the thumbnail below for a higher resolution image.