Mississippi, 1971

Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in Mississippi, February 21, 1971

February 21, 1971 · 24 events in 16 counties and zones

23 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
110
Injuries
1,469
Property damage
$33 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
24

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

23 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Issaquena

When
February 21, 3:43 PM CST
Where
Issaquena County
Rating
F5
Path length
18.7 mi
Path width
33 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
32.730, -91.120

Tornado, Issaquena

When
February 21, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Issaquena County
Rating
F4
Path length
5.4 mi
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
32.700, -91.020

Tornado, Sharkey

When
February 21, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Sharkey County
Rating
F5
Path length
13.3 mi
Path width
33 yd
Deaths
9 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
123 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$25 million
Coordinates
32.930, -90.900

Tornado, Sharkey

When
February 21, 4:05 PM CST
Where
Sharkey County
Rating
F4
Path length
28.8 mi
Path width
33 yd
Deaths
14 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
192 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
32.770, -90.970

Tornado, Washington

When
February 21, 4:05 PM CST
Where
Washington County
Rating
F5
Path length
7.1 mi
Path width
33 yd
Property damage
$2.5 million
Coordinates
33.100, -90.770

Tornado, Humphreys

When
February 21, 4:15 PM CST
Where
Humphreys County
Rating
F5
Path length
8.3 mi
Path width
33 yd
Deaths
2 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
27 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$2.5 million
Coordinates
33.180, -90.700

Tornado, Sunflower

When
February 21, 4:25 PM CST
Where
Sunflower County
Rating
F5
Path length
5.7 mi
Path width
33 yd
Deaths
25 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
342 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$2.5 million
Coordinates
33.270, -90.600

Tornado, Humphreys

When
February 21, 4:35 PM CST
Where
Humphreys County
Rating
F4
Path length
17.8 mi
Path width
33 yd
Deaths
30 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
411 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
33.100, -90.670

Tornado, Sunflower

When
February 21, 4:35 PM CST
Where
Sunflower County
Rating
F5
Path length
14.4 mi
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
33.350, -90.600

Tornado, Leflore

When
February 21, 4:55 PM CST
Where
Leflore County
Rating
F3
Path length
10 mi
Path width
33 yd
Property damage
$25,000
Coordinates
33.520, -90.450

Tornado, Leflore

When
February 21, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Leflore County
Rating
F4
Path length
9.1 mi
Path width
33 yd
Deaths
14 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
192 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
33.280, -90.450

Tornado, Warren

When
February 21, 5:06 PM CST
Where
Warren County
Rating
F4
Path length
17.5 mi
Path width
33 yd
Deaths
2 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
28 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
32.330, -90.730

Tornado, Leflore

When
February 21, 5:10 PM CST
Where
Leflore County
Rating
F4
Path length
24.2 mi
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
33.380, -90.350

Tornado, Sunflower

When
February 21, 5:30 PM CST
Where
Sunflower County
Rating
F3
Path length
8.6 mi
Path width
33 yd
Deaths
3 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
33.850, -90.520

Tornado, Yazoo

When
February 21, 5:40 PM CST
Where
Yazoo County
Rating
F4
Path length
37 mi
Path width
33 yd
Deaths
11 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
154 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
32.530, -90.550

Tornado, Grenada

When
February 21, 5:45 PM CST
Where
Grenada County
Rating
F4
Path length
71.2 mi
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
33.680, -90.130

Tornado, Holmes

When
February 21, 6:05 PM CST
Where
Holmes County
Rating
F4
Path length
10.7 mi
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
32.950, -90.150

Tornado, Marshall

When
February 21, 6:30 PM CST
Where
Marshall County
Rating
F4
Path length
42 mi
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
34.520, -89.400

Tornado, Hinds

When
February 21, 6:54 PM CST
Where
Hinds County
Rating
F0
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
32.280, -90.320

Tornado, Benton

When
February 21, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Benton County
Rating
F2
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
34.770, -89.270

Tornado, Rankin

When
February 21, 7:10 PM CST
Where
Rankin County
Rating
F1
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
32.130, -90.170

Tornado, Rankin

When
February 21, 7:35 PM CST
Where
Rankin County
Rating
F0
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
32.280, -89.980

Thunderstorm Wind, Carroll

When
February 21, 8:00 PM CST
Where
Carroll County
Coordinates
33.500, -89.780

Tornado, Pontotoc

When
February 21, 8:30 PM CST
Where
Pontotoc County
Rating
F2
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
34.270, -88.980

What these are

Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Mississippi in 1971Every state in 1971This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Mississippi, 1971

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10048631, 10048632, 10048633, 10048634, 10048635, 10048636, 10048637, 10048638, 10048639, 10048640, 10048641, 10048642, 10048643, 10048644, 10048645, 10048646, 10048647, 10048648, 10048649, 10048650, 10048651, 10048652, 10048653, 10048654.