A storm gathering strength over Texas today will shift to the Mid-Atlantic through Tuesday night. Areas of freezing rain and heavy snow will spread from the central Plains east into the Mid-Atlantic and southern New England. Further south, areas of severe thunderstorms and heavy rain are possible from the southern Plains into the Ohio Valley. A Pacific storm will move into the Southwest Monday. Read More >
February 23, 2016 Tornadoes
Event Summary
Widespread severe weather occurred on Wednesday with a mix of damaging winds, hail and several tornadoes. The focus of the severe weather was across southern Mississippi, with a few weaker tornadoes in central Mississippi. The hardest hit areas were across Marion, Lamar and Forrest Counties. A strong tornado (EF-2) in Lamar County sadly caused one fatality just west of Purvis, Mississippi. Other tornadoes occurred in Lincoln, Simpson and Yazoo Counties as well. This event was driven by a strong disturbance that swung across the area during the late afternoon to early evening hours. As this strong disturbance dropped into the southern Plains and lower Mississippi River Valley, a surface low developed and deepened as it tracked across northeast Louisiana and into central to northwest Mississippi late that evening. The atmospheric response to this was for a rapid increase in winds aloft and higher low level moisture. This combination set the stage for an unstable environment that contained high levels of wind shear which supported and sustained tornado development, with the best combination for development of tornadoes, including some strong, in southeast Mississippi.
Tornado Event Track Map
Click on map above to see entire event tracks and damage point notation.
Click on the location in the table for additional maps and details below.
Location | Start/ End Time |
Event Type | Fatalities/ Injuries |
Path Length | Path Width |
Lincoln County 5 E Centerpoint to 5 E Centerpoint |
3:45 PM- 3:47 PM |
EF-1 Tornado 90 mph |
none | 0.5 miles | 75 yards |
Marion County 5 ESE Sandy Hook to 6 E Sandy Hook |
3:54 PM- 3:58 PM |
EF-1 Tornado 105 mph |
none | 2.3 miles | 200 yards |
Lamar County 4 WSW Baxterville to 4 WSW Baxterville |
4:07 PM- 4:07 PM |
EF-0 Tornado 80 mph |
none | 0.1 miles | 25 yards |
Lamar County 5 ENE Baxterville to 4 NW Purvis |
4:15 PM- 4:23 PM |
EF-2 Tornado 115 mph |
Deaths: 1 | 5.6 miles | 100 yards |
Lamar County 7 WSW West Hattiesburg to 6 SSW West Hattiesburg |
4:29 PM- 4:31 PM |
EF-1 Tornado 90 mph |
none | 1.4 miles | 75 yards |
Yazoo County 1 SSW Benton to 1 ENE Benton |
4:42 PM- 4:44 PM |
EF-0 Tornado 85 mph |
none | 1.2 miles | 100 yards |
Simpson County 4 WSW Shivers to 4 WSW Shivers |
4:46 PM- 4:47 PM |
EF-0 Tornado 80 mph |
none | 0.6 miles | 40 yards |
Forrest County 8 ESE Lumberton to 6 WNW Maxie |
6:01 PM- 6:09 PM |
EF-0 Tornado 75 mph |
none | 3.9 miles | 75 yards |
Click on map above to see entire damage point notation and damage pictures at select points.
Event Summary |
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Click on map above to see entire damage point notation and damage pictures at select points.
Event Summary |
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Click on map above to see entire damage point notation and damage pictures at select points.
Event Summary |
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Click on map above to see entire damage point notation and damage pictures at select points.
Event Summary |
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Click on map above to see entire damage point notation and damage pictures at select points.
Event Summary |
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Click on map above to see entire damage point notation and damage pictures at select points.
Event Summary |
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Click on map above to see entire damage point notation and damage pictures at select points.
Event Summary |
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Click on map above to see entire damage point notation and damage pictures at select points.
Event Summary |
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Precipitation Summary
Local Storm Reports
Click on the map below for additional details.