Tornado and Hail in Mississippi, December 3, 1978

Name: Tornado and Hail in Mississippi, December 3, 1978
Start: 1978-12-03T07:00
End: 1978-12-03T18:30
Location: Mississippi

December 3, 1978 · NWS MT · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

5 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 1 hail, 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $250,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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

5 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Tunica

When: December 3, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Tunica County
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 70 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 34.630, -90.350

Thunderstorm Wind, Coahoma

When: December 3, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Coahoma County
Coordinates: 34.220, -90.720

Thunderstorm Wind, Sunflower

When: December 3, 2:15 PM CST
Where: Sunflower County
Coordinates: 33.450, -91.520

Hail, Yalobusha

When: December 3, 3:12 PM CST
Where: Yalobusha County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 34.120, -89.920

Thunderstorm Wind, Lafayette

When: December 3, 3:55 PM CST
Where: Lafayette County
Coordinates: 34.230, -89.370

Thunderstorm Wind, Hinds

When: December 3, 6:20 PM CST
Where: Hinds County
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates: 32.320, -90.080

Thunderstorm Wind, Adams

When: December 3, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Adams County
Coordinates: 31.670, -91.250

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.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Mississippi in 1978 Every state in 1978 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Mississippi, 1978

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: 10063974, 10063975, 10063976, 10063977, 10063978, 10063979, 10063980.