A potent storm system developed across the Inter-Mountain West before tracking east across the Lower Mississippi Valley region February 21st. A rather cold and dry air mass was entrenched across the region through the 20th, with dew points in the teens and twenties. In fact, as atmospheric lift began to approach the area and some light showers moved across portions of the Delta, light sleet occurred. There was not enough sleet to cause travel problems, but it showed how cold the atmosphere was prior to the incoming low pressure system.
By the morning of the 21st, the warm front was still located along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Dew points were still in the upper 30s as of late morning across Central Mississippi. Some showers and isolated thunderstorms moved through the area producing small hail. The warm front slowly moved north and by mid to late afternoon, dew points had finally increased to the mid and upper 50s across the I-20 corridor and were in the mid 60s further south. This helped to fuel additional showers and thunderstorms as the main upper level storm system tracked northeast. As the moisture increased across the region, the combination of strong wind shear and an unstable air mass south of the warm front became more conducive to supercell and tornado development. Strong storms were moving through the southwestern portions of the region later that afternoon.
Around 5 pm storms began to exhibit rotation on radar and a tornado developed in Concordia Parish just south of Clayton. This tornado produced some damage to some homes and trailers in the area. As the low pressure gradually tracked northeast and the warm front lifted further north, the environment became more favorable for tornadoes in southern Mississippi. One storm had continuous rotation as it moved from north-central Louisiana into south-central Mississippi. This storm crossed southeast Lawrence to northwest Marion counties around 10 pm and continued to track northeast. Rotation began to intensify and a strong tornado developed around 10:30 pm a few miles southwest of Bassfield. This tornado caused minor to moderate damage to some homes and buildings, snapped some power poles and caused extensive tree damage. Another weak tornado developed around 11 pm a few miles southwest of Collins snapping some trees and causing some damage to a mobile home and a chicken house. Scattered storms continued to affect the Pine Belt area into the early morning hours on the 22nd, before finally moving out of the area.