Tornado, Pontotoc
- When
- April 1, 12:00 AM CST to 12:21 AM CST
- Where
- Pontotoc County, 1.94 mi SW of Springville to 2.45 mi E of Furrs
- Rating
- EF2
- Path length
- 16.87 mi
- Path width
- 475 yd
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 5 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- NWS Storm Survey
- Coordinates
- 34.208, -89.121
A storm survey of Pontotoc County confirmed an EF-2 tornado moved across the area around 12:00 a.m. CST on April 1. The tornado began in far western Pontotoc County, around Antioch Road, with a few trees downed and tree limbs snapped. Along Highway 9 and Houpt Road, tree damage became more significant, and a few homes and outbuildings sustained damage. A brick home on Highway 9 sustained heavy damage to the front side, mostly caused by a large uprooted tree. Damage in this area was rated EF-1. Weaker damage continued south of the Springville community before another area of EF-1 damage was noted along Highway 341 at Foster Lane. Here a brick home sustained significant roof loss, caused partially by the uplift of an open-air carport. A few other homes had roof damage as the tornado continued to the south side of Pontotoc. A swath of more intense damage ran from Highway 15 across Highway 41 and East 10th Street, with numerous homes sustaining considerable damage. The tornado reached EF-2 intensity in this area, based on a double-wide mobile home being swept away, two brick homes having significant roof loss, and a large anchored garage being destroyed. Bolted footings that remained in place were observed in the garage. Damage to other homes in the area was rated EF-1, and many trees were uprooted, with a good number of snaps as well. Significant tree damage, along with minor structural damage, continued across Horseshoe Bend, Hall Road, and New Hope Road, maintaining EF-1 intensity. After briefly weakening near Highway 278, the tornado encountered the College Hill Lane neighborhood along Old Highway 6. Here, more significant damage was observed to structures and trees, mostly pines. A site-built home lost part of its roof, and a neighboring double-wide was swept away and scattered south and east, resulting in a fatality. Additionally, other homes sustained minor damage, and a small barber shop building was rolled and destroyed. Damage continued in the EF-0 range from Faulkner Road to near the Lee County line, with several more homes being damaged and numerous trees being uprooted. The more severe home damage in this area appeared to be a combination of tree failure or uplift of garages/carports, thus the rating was kept at high-end EF-0. At Country Oaks Circle, a church sign and cemetery sign were blown down, and several headstones in the cemetery sustained damage. The damage path appeared to end in a grove of trees just south of Old Highway 6, and no damage was observed on County Road 41 at the Pontotoc/Lee county line. Along the track, 12 homes were destroyed and 120 were damaged. Peak estimated winds in Pontotoc County were 120 mph. Note that part of this tornado occurred before 12:00 am CST on April 1 and much of that data is included in March's Storm Data. The complete narrative is included in both March Storm Data and April Storm Data.