Tornadoes in Mississippi, February 24, 2001

Name: Tornadoes in Mississippi, February 24, 2001
Start: 2001-02-24T20:37
End: 2001-02-24T21:07
Location: Mississippi

February 24, 2001 · NWS JAN · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

3 tornado, 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: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $2.3 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Jackson, MS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 24, 2:18 PM CST, 6 hours 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 24, 2:18 PM CST, 6 hours 19 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
218 PM CST SAT FEB 24 2001

ETA/AVN IN GOOD AGREEMENT THIS RUN THAT NEGATIVELY TILTED
SHORTWAVE...OVER NM AT 12Z...WILL EJECT RAPIDLY TO THE NE OVERNIGHT
WITH SW MID LEVEL FLOW REMAINING. ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT CURRENTLY
MOVING THROUGH E TX/E OK WITH GOOD LINE OF CONVECTION ALONG IT.
AIRMASS AHEAD OF FRONT UNSTABLE WITH CAPES 1000-2000 J/KG AND
HELICITIES 300-500 M2/S2.

WITH STRONG FRONTAL FORCING THROUGH THE UNSTABLE AIRMASS IN
PLACE...STILL EXPECT SQUALL LINE TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AND PUSH
ACROSS THE CWFA TONIGHT. GOOD DIFFERENTIAL DIVERGENCE FROM 300-850
MB SHOULD DIMINISH...HOWEVER...LATE TONIGHT AS MID/UPPER JET LIFTS
OUT WITH THE WAVE. GOOD LOW LEVEL JET...IN EXCESS OF 60 KNOTS...WILL
CONTINUE JUST AHEAD OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY. WILL GO WITH
CATEGORICAL POPS AND CONTINUE MENTION OF SEVERE. ALSO...BOTH ETA/AVN
INDICATE PRECIPITABLE WATERS AROUND 1.5 INCHES AHEAD OF THE FRONT
TONIGHT. WILL CONTINUE WITH HEAVY RAIN WORDING...BUT SPEED OF SYSTEM
SHOULD RESULT IN MOST PRECIP FALLING IN THE INITIAL ONE-TWO HOURS
AFTER STARTING AND AVERAGE REMAINING AROUND ONE INCH.

FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL MOVE OUT OF THE AREA SUNDAY MORNING...BUT ONLY
FOR A SHORT WHILE. FRONT GETS HUNG UP ALONG THE COAST WITH SOME
MOISTURE RETURN OVER IT EVIDENT BY LATE IN THE DAY SUNDAY. GOOD
MOISTURE RETURN IN THE 295-310K THETA LAYER SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY
WITH THE ATMOSPHERE BEING MOIST ENOUGH FOR SOME PRECIP TO REACH THE
GROUND BY SUNDAY EVENING OVER THE EXTREME S AND CENTRAL SECTIONS BY
EARLY MONDAY MORNING. ETA IS THE MOST AGGRESSIVE WITH THE MOISTURE
RETURN AS IT USUALLY IS...WHILE THE AVN IS NOT FAR BEHIND.

GOOD SLOPE OF THETA SURFACES ALONG WITH 25 KNOT AVERAGE WINDS
THROUGH THE 295-310K THETA LAYER WILL RESULT IN GOOD PRESSURE
ADVECTION WITH LOWERING CONDENSATION PRESSURE DEFICITS MONDAY INTO MONDAY
NIGHT. WITH INCREASING ELEVATED INSTABILITY WILL ALSO SEE SOME
ELEVATED CONVECTION BY MONDAY NIGHT.

MRF SHOWING WARM FRONT MAKING ITS WAY INTO C MS BY TUE MORNING...
BECOMING COLD AGAIN AND PUSHING INTO S SECTIONS BY WED MORNING. ONCE
AGAIN THOUGH...BOUNDARY GETS STUCK OVER THE COAST WITH GOOD
ISENTROPIC LIFT SETTING BACK UP THU INTO FRI. NOGAPS A LITTLE SLOWER
WITH PRECIP COMING BACK NORTH...NOT UNTIL MONDAY NIGHT. NOGAPS ALSO
HAS DIFFERING SOLUTION IN THE LATTER PART OF THE PERIOD WITH FRONT
NOT SO INCLINED TO BACK UP AGAIN. NCEP LEANING MORE TOWARD THE
MRF...WILL DO THE SAME.

EVEN THOUGH MIXED LAYER WILL DIMINISH SOMEWHAT AFTER SUNSET...EXPECT
WINDS TO REMAIN AT CRITERIA LEVEL FOR WIND ADVISORY FOR AREA LAKES
THIS EVENING. WINDS SHOULD DIMINISH FURTHER AFTER SQUALL LINE PASSES.

JAN 56/70/45/64 9-24
MEI 58/72/45/65 9224

.JAN...
MS...WIND ADVISORY FOR AREA LAKES THIS EVENING.
LA...WIND ADVISORY FOR AREA LAKES THIS EVENING.
AR...WIND ADVISuORY FOR AREA LAKES THIS EVENING.
26

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Feb 24, 6:45 PM CST, 1 hour 52 minutes before

ARZ074-075-LAZ007>009-015-016-023>026-MSZ018-019-025>066-072>
074-261000-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTION TO SVR WX OUTLINE AREA...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
645 PM CST SAT FEB 24 2001

...THUNDERSTORMS...
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TONIGHT OVER SOUTHEAST
ARKANSAS...NORTHEAST LOUISIANA...AND MUCH OF MISSISSIPPI. THE HIGHEST
THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE THIS EVENING...GENERALLY
NORTHWEST OF A TALLULAH LA...TO ROLLING FORK...TO GREENWOOD MS LINE.

DURING THE EVENING HOURS...THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL BE
POSSIBLE TORNADOES...OVER THE AREA GENERALLY ALONG AND WEST OF
INTERSTATE 55. LARGE HAIL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE IN THIS AREA.
THUNDERSTORMS WILL BEGIN TO EVOLVE INTO A SQUALL LINE LATER TONIGHT.
THE SQUALL LINE WILL SWEEP EASTWARD AND REACH EASTERN COUNTIES AFTER
MIDNIGHT. THE PRIMARY SEVERE THREAT WITH THE SQUALL LINE WILL BE
DAMAGING WINDS.

PERSONS SHOULD BE PREPARED AND STAY ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING
WEATHER CONDITIONS.

...FLOODING...
HEAVY RAIN IS LIKELY WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE SQUALL LINE THIS EVENING
AND TONIGHT. AROUND ONE INCH OF RAIN IS EXPECTED IN ONE TO TWO
HOURS...WITH LOCALLY HEAVIER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE...WHICH WOULD RESULT IN
PONDING OF WATER IN LOW LYING AND POORLY DRAINED AREAS. THE HEAVY
RAINFALL WILL ONLY LAST FOR ONE OR TWO HOURS...SO WIDESPREAD FLOODING
IS NOT EXPECTED.

...WIND...
SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH...WITH A FEW GUSTS UP TO 40
MPH...WILL AFFECT SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS...NORTHEAST LOUISIANA...AND MUCH
OF MISSISSIPPI THROUGH THIS EVENING. THE WINDS WILL BECOME
SOUTHWESTERLY AND DIMINISH AFTER THE PASSAGE OF THE SQUALL LINE.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT
WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/JAN. THIS INCLUDES THE GRAPHICAL HAZARDOUS WEATHER
OUTLOOK.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Leflore

When: February 24, 8:37 PM CST to 8:47 PM CST
Where: Leflore County, 3 mi SE of Greenwood
Rating: F3
Path length: 5 mi
Path width: 400 yd
Property damage: $2.2 million
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 33.483, -90.150

Tornado, Carroll

When: February 24, 8:47 PM CST to 9:05 PM CST
Where: Carroll County, 5 mi W of Malmaison
Rating: F1
Path length: 15 mi
Path width: 350 yd
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 33.533, -90.100

Tornado, Grenada

When: February 24, 9:05 PM CST to 9:07 PM CST
Where: Grenada County, 9 mi SW of Grenada
Rating: F0
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 33.683, -89.933

This tornado produced F3 damage shortly after it touched down three miles southeast of downtown Greenwood. The storm traveled northeastward about four miles until it reached the Carroll County line about four miles east of Greenwood. In the Greenwood area of Leflore County, the tornado destroyed 14 houses and five mobile homes. Additionally, eight houses sustained major damage, and 43 houses houses had minor damage. Several businesses, including a construction business office, a western store, and a pest control company were seriously damaged or destroyed. A canceled check from the pest control company was found several days later 11 miles west of New Albany, Mississippi, about 90 miles away from the destroyed business where the check originated. Despite the widespread damage in the Greenwood area, no one received any serious injuries. One family of four was huddled in the first floor bathroom of a two story house. The house was entirely destroyed except for the bathroom where the family had taken shelter. After a five mile path in Leflore County, the tornado moved into northwestern Carroll County. The tornado next tracked fifteen miles across rural portions of northwestern Carroll County. In Carroll County, three farms sustained major damage, and numerous trees were blown down. The NWS storm survey determined the damage was F1 in nature in Carroll County. Finally, the tornado tracked into south central Grenada County. The storm dissipated within two miles of the county border with only F0 damage noted for downed trees. The total tornado track across the three counties was about 22 miles long.

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.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Mississippi in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Mississippi, 2001 Warnings in Mississippi, February 2001

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: 5233172, 5233173, 5233277.