1973 tornadoes in Mississippi

44 tornadoes touched down in Mississippi in 1973, 17 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 2 people and injured 185.

1972 1974 The whole country in 1973

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

F040 to 72 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2113 to 157 mph
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3158 to 206 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5261 to 318 mph
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Every tornado in Mississippi in 1973

January 18 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
January 18	8:00 PM CST	F2	Neshoba	7.6	400		8	$50,000 to $500,000
January 18	8:30 PM CST	F2	Leake	2.7	67			$5,000 to $50,000

February 13 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
February 13	11:59 PM CST	F1	Jackson	1.3	40		1	$500 to $5,000

March 10 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 10	10:00 PM CST	F2	Grenada	19.9	220			$50,000 to $500,000

March 11 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 11	1:25 AM CST	F2	Simpson	12.9	250		1	$5,000 to $50,000

April 7 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 7	4:30 AM CST	F2	Hancock	0.1	10			$5,000 to $50,000
April 7	5:30 AM CST	F2	George	0.1	10			$500 to $5,000

April 24 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
April 24	9:25 AM CST	F2	Tallahatchie	0.1	10	42	$500,000 to $5 million
April 24	10:45 PM CST	F2	Jones	1.5	10		$50,000 to $500,000
April 24	10:45 PM CST	F2	Jones	1.0	10		$50,000 to $500,000

May 8 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 8	6:00 AM CDT	F1	Wayne	0.5	300			$50,000 to $500,000

May 11 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 11	2:00 PM CDT	F1	Marshall	0.1	10		2	$5,000 to $50,000

May 23 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 23	6:15 PM CDT	F1	Leake	0.1	10			$500 to $5,000
May 23	8:40 PM CDT	F1	Hinds	0.1	10			$500 to $5,000

May 24 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 24	5:00 PM CDT	F1	Forrest	0.1	10			$500 to $5,000

May 26 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 26	10:23 AM CDT	F2	Pearl River	0.1	10		4	$5,000 to $50,000

May 27 10 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 27	6:00 AM CDT	F1	Benton	5.4	100			$5,000 to $50,000
May 27	8:00 AM CDT	F1	Alcorn	2.0	10			$5,000 to $50,000
May 27	11:34 AM CDT	F1	Itawamba	0.1	10			$500 to $5,000
May 27	2:15 PM CDT	F3	Jones	15.0	400	1	35	$500,000 to $5 million
May 27	2:45 PM CDT	F1	Hinds	0.5	150			$5,000 to $50,000
May 27	4:00 PM CDT	F2	Clarke	3.0	440		1	$5,000 to $50,000
May 27	4:00 PM CDT	F2	Clarke	0.1	10		1	$5,000 to $50,000
May 27	4:00 PM CDT	F2	Clarke	0.1	10		1	$5,000 to $50,000
May 27	4:20 PM CDT	F2	Lauderdale	0.1	10		3	$50,000 to $500,000
May 27	6:30 PM CDT	F2	Lauderdale	0.1	10			$50,000 to $500,000

September 5 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 5	4:30 PM CDT	F1	Hinds	2.5	100			$5,000 to $50,000

September 13 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 13	4:30 PM CDT	F1	George	0.1	10			$5,000 to $50,000

November 20 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 20	3:30 PM CST	F2	Leflore	0.1	10			$50,000 to $500,000
November 20	3:30 PM CST	F3	Grenada	11.9	10			$5,000 to $50,000

November 24 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 24	11:00 PM CST	F3	Leflore	0.1	10			$500 to $5,000

November 26 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
November 26	1:30 PM CST	F3	Webster	54.4	10	5	$500,000 to $5 million
November 26	6:00 PM CST	F3	Copiah	0.1	10
November 26	6:50 PM CST	F2	Noxubee	0.1	10		$500 to $5,000

November 27 7 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 27	1:15 AM CST	F2	Alcorn	10.2	10			$50,000 to $500,000
November 27	12:35 PM CST	F1	DeSoto	4.5	10		10	$50,000 to $500,000
November 27	12:40 PM CST	F1	DeSoto	8.4	10		15	$50,000 to $500,000
November 27	12:45 PM CST	F2	DeSoto	4.1	10	1	50	$50,000 to $500,000
November 27	1:00 PM CST	F1	Claiborne	0.1	10
November 27	2:00 PM CST	F2	Neshoba	0.1	10
November 27	8:00 PM CST	F1	Pearl River	0.1	10			$5,000 to $50,000

December 4 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
December 4	12:35 AM CST	F2	Claiborne	0.1	30		$500 to $5,000
December 4	12:45 AM CST	F2	Washington	12.5	30	6	$5,000 to $50,000
December 4	1:30 AM CST	F2	Hinds	2.0	30		$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

Every tornado in Mississippi since 1950 Warnings in force in Mississippi The live radar over Mississippi

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.