Tornadoes · United States · Mississippi · 2004

F2 tornado, Raleigh to Hickory, Mississippi, November 24, 2004

Name: F2 tornado, Raleigh to Hickory, Mississippi, November 24, 2004
Start: 2004-11-24T07:53:00.000Z
Location: Raleigh to Hickory, Mississippi

From Raleigh to Hickory, this F2 tornado ran 38.0 miles across Smith, Jasper and Newton counties on November 24, 2004, touching down at 1:53 AM CST and reaching 600 yards wide. It killed nobody and injured 4, and did $7.0 million of property damage.

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 mphthis tornado
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.

The record

Rating: F2
Date: November 24, 2004
Touchdown: 1:53 AM CST (07:53 UTC)
Path length: 38.0 miles (61.1 km)
Path width: 600 yards (549 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 4
Property damage: $7.0 million
Counties: Smith, Jasper and Newton counties
Touchdown point: 32.020, -89.530
Lift-off point: 32.270, -88.950
Record number: 1795

What the Weather Service recorded

This tornado touched down just south of Raleigh on State Highway 35 and tracked northeast to the Jasper Smith county line, 7 miles northeast of Sylvarena, where it then moved into Jasper county. Along its path it uprooted and destroyed a few thousand trees. Thirteen chicken houses were destroyed and six others were damaged. Three mobile homes and one residential home were destroyed along with five other homes sustaining major damage. Two people were injured when a mobile home was blown off its foundation and destroyed 10 miles northeast of Raleigh. At 210 AM the strong tornado moved into northwest Jasper county. The total path length of this tornado was 38 miles across Smith, Jasper and Newton counties.

This tornado moved into Jasper county from Smith county 5.5 miles southwest of Montrose and tracked northeast for 20 miles before moving into Newton county 6 miles east of Garlandville. As this strong tornado tracked across Jasper county a few thousand trees were uprooted and snapped. Seven residential homes sustained major damage along with eleven sustaining minor damage. Eight chicken houses were destroyed with five more sustaining major damage. The total path length of this tornado was 38 miles across Smith, Jasper and Newton counties.

This tornado moved into southeast Newton county, south of Hickory, and tracked northeast for 5.5 miles before dissipating. This tornado downed and damaged a few hundred trees before dissipating southeast of Hickory on Parks Mill Road. The total path length of this tornado was 38 miles across Smith, Jasper and Newton counties.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

The warnings

27 minutes of warning. NWS JAN issued a tornado warning for this county at 07:26 UTC, 27 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 08:30 UTC.

Issued (UTC)	Expired	Product	Office
07:26 UTC	08:30 UTC	Tornado Warning	JAN

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 06:00 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, 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 tornado touched down at Nov 23, 9:30 PM CST, 4 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 23, 9:30 PM CST, 4 hours 23 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
930 PM CST TUE NOV 23 2004

.UPDATED...WILL DO A COSMETIC UPDATE TO ADJUST WORDING...REMOVE ANY
EVENING OR AFTER MIDNIGHT WORDING WHERE POSSIBLE. WILL ALSO ADJUST
TEMPS MAINLY SOUTH AND CENTRAL. NO OTHER CHANGES POSSIBLE AT THIS
TIME.

.JAN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MS...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THRU 24/12Z MSZ018-019-025>052 TORNADO WATCH
888 THRU 24/8Z MSZ018-019-025>029>038-040>042 TORNADO WATCH 890 THRU
24/8Z MSZ047-043>045-048>051-053>056-059>064
LA...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THRU 24/12Z LAZ007>009-015-016 TORNADO WATCH
890 THROUGH 24/08Z LAZ008-009-015-016-023>026
AR...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THRU 24/12Z ARZ074-075

&&

Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 23, 2:30 PM CST, 11 hours 23 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
230 PM CST TUE NOV 23 2004

ARZ074-075-LAZ007>009-015-016-023>026-MSZ018-019-025>066-072>074-
242030-
ADAMS-ASHLEY-ATTALA-BOLIVAR-CARROLL-CATAHOULA-CHICOT-CHOCTAW-
CLAIBORNE-CLARKE-CLAY-CONCORDIA-COPIAH-COVINGTON-EAST CARROLL-
FORREST-FRANKLIN LA-FRANKLIN MS-GRENADA-HINDS-HOLMES-HUMPHREYS-
ISSAQUENA-JASPER-JEFFERSON-JEFFERSON DAVIS-JONES-KEMPER-LAMAR-
LAUDERDALE-LAWRENCE-LEAKE-LEFLORE-LINCOLN-LOWNDES-MADISON LA-
MADISON MS-MARION-MONTGOMERY-MOREHOUSE-NESHOBA-NEWTON-NOXUBEE-
OKTIBBEHA-RANKIN-RICHLAND-SCOTT-SHARKEY-SIMPSON-SMITH-SUNFLOWER-
TENSAS-WARREN-WASHINGTON-WEBSTER-WEST CARROLL-WINSTON-YAZOO-
230 PM CST TUE NOV 23 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI...
NORTHEAST LOUISIANA...AND EXTREME SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...

...THUNDERSTORMS...
NUMEROUS SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED OVER SOUTHEAST
ARKANSAS...NORTHEAST LOUISIANA...AND WESTERN MISSISSIPPI LATE
THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.  SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE
EXPECTED OVER EAST MISSISSIPPI	TONIGHT.

AN INTENSE UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER THE SOUTHERN
PLAINS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST TOWARD THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI
VALLEY REGION TONIGHT.	A VERY WARM AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS IS IN
PLACE. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE ERUPTING OVER CENTRAL LOUISIANA
ALONG A WARM FRONT...AND THEY WILL MOVE INTO AREAS WEST OF THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER BEFORE DARK.

WIND FLOW THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE WILL INCREASE DRAMATICALLY BY
LATE AFTERNOON AS THE INTENSE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM PIVOTS THIS
WAY. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL JET WILL SWING INTO THE LOWER
MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY AS THE ASSOCIATED LOWER LEVEL JET
PUNCHES INTO THE AREA. THIS WILL RESULT IN A POWERFUL STORM
ENVIRONMENT WITH INTENSE WIND SHEAR THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE AND
ABUNDANT MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY TO PRODUCE  LONG LIVED
SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS. THE INTENSE WIND SHEAR IN PLACE WILL
RESULT IN  TORNADO DEVELOPMENT PROGRESSING FROM WEST TO EAST...
ESPECIALLY IN AREAS ALONG AND WEST OF INTERSTATE 55 THROUGH
TONIGHT .  THESE STORMS WILL ALSO HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR LARGE
HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH.

THESE ATMOSPHERIC  CONDITIONS WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE REST OF THE
FORECAST AREA TONIGHT AS THE UPPER LOW PIVOTS TO THE NORTHEAST
AND THE COLD FRONT PROGRESSES EASTWARD. THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE
STORMS WILL CONTINUE INTO THE NIGHTTIME HOURS OVER WESTERN AREAS
AND CONTINUE FOR EAST MISSISSIPPI THROUGH SUNRISE.

...FLOODING...
A VERY MOIST AIRMASS WILL LEND TO THUNDERSTORMS WITH TORRENTIAL
RAINFALL OVER MUCH OF THE OUTLOOK AREA TONIGHT. RAINFALL OF TWO
TO THREE INCHES MAY FALL IN A SHORT TIME. SOILS ARE VERY MOIST
AND SUCH INTENSE RAINFALL COULD LEAD TO SIGNIFICANT FLOODING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...

...DAYS TWO AND THREE...WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT...
A COOLER AIRMASS WILL MOVE IN FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND
THANKSGIVING DAY. A COMBINATION OF DRY AIR...NEAR CALM WINDS AND
CLEAR SKIES...WILL BRING THE POTENTIAL FOR THE AREAS FIRST FREEZE
FRIDAY MORNING. AT THIS TIME...AREAS OVER EAST MISSISSIPPI ALONG
AND NORTH OF I-20 HAVE THE GREATEST POTENTIAL.

...DAYS FOUR THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...
NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...
THE ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS...HAM RADIO OPERATORS...AND
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL...IN SUPPORT OF SEVERE WEATHER
OPERATIONS..WILL BE NEEDED LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

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

In the hours before

Local storm report, Nov 24, 12:59 AM CST, 54 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
1259 AM CST WED NOV 24 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1015 PM     TSTM WND DMG     2 S VICKSBURG           32.30N 90.87W
11/23/2004                   WARREN             MS   AMATEUR RADIO

            LARGE TREES DOWN 2 MILES SOUTH OF CHINA GROVE RD.

&&

BYRD

Local storm report, Nov 24, 1:00 AM CST, 53 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
1259 AM CST WED NOV 24 2004 42
0.TIME...   ...EVENT...   N .... ITY LOCATION...     ...LA . O..L.
..DATE...   ....MAG..... A . ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1015 PM     TSTM WND DMG     2 S VICKSBURG           32.30N 90.87W
11/23/2004   / 0 4           WARREN             M    AMATEUR RADIO

      LARGE TREES DOWN 2 MILWS S UIH OF CHINA GROVE RD.

&&

BYRD

Local storm report, Nov 24, 1:23 AM CST, 30 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
123 AM CST WED NOV 24 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0115 AM     HAIL             PEARL                   32.27N 90.11W
11/24/2004  0.75 INCH        RANKIN             MS   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

BURSE

Local storm report, Nov 24, 1:24 AM CST, 29 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
124 AM CST WED NOV 24 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0115 AM     HAIL             PEARL                   32.27N 90.11W
11/24/2004  0.75 INCH        RANKIN             MS   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

BURSE

Local storm report, Nov 24, 1:30 AM CST, 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
130 AM CST WED NOV 24 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0125 AM     HAIL             BRANDON                 32.28N 90.00W
11/24/2004  0.75 INCH        RANKIN             MS   TRAINED SPOTTER

            PENNY SIZE HAIL HWY 25 AT GRANTS FERRY ROAD AND HWY 468
            AT HWY 469

&&

BURSE

Local storm report, Nov 24, 1:41 AM CST, 12 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
141 AM CST WED NOV 24 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1250 AM     TSTM WND DMG     2 N GLUCKSTADT          32.54N 90.10W
11/24/2004                   MADISON            MS   EMERGENCY MNGR

            FEW TREES DOWN IN THE LAKE CAROLINE AREA...STANDING WATER
            ON SOME ROADS

&&

BURSE

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Jackson, MS (KJAN), 00:00Z

7.9 hours before the tornado, 81 km from the path. November 24, 2004.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 1370 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -16 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 1442 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 857 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 63 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 185 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 198 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.9
Supercell composite: 6.1
0-3 km lapse rate: 6.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Jackson, MS (KJAN), 12:00Z

4.1 hours after it, 81 km from the path. November 24, 2004.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.

Hodograph

Mixed-layer CAPE: 52 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -341 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 45 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 908 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 63 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 163 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 178 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 4.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Meridian/Key Field (MEI), 51 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Temp (°F)	Dew point (°F)	Wind	Pressure (mb)	Weather
05:53 UTC	69	66	180° 3 kt	1007.1
06:53 UTC	70	66	170° 6 kt	1005.8
07:53 UTC	70	66	160° 7 kt	1003.7
08:53 UTC	70	67	70° 7 kt	1003.4	+TSRA BR

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The radar

The Jackson/Brandon,MS radar (KDGX), 72 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 07:54 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2004 tornado in Mississippi Every tornado in Mississippi since 1950 Warnings in force in Mississippi now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of November 24, 2004

49 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 24	12:30 AM CST	F2	Saint Tammany Parish, LA	4.0	50		4	$750,000
November 24	12:33 AM CST	F0	Hinds, MS	1.0	30			$2,000
November 24	12:35 AM CST	F0	Madison, MS	6.0	40			$2,000
November 24	12:54 AM CST	F2	Lawrence, MS	28.0	200			$1.5 million
November 24	1:15 AM CST	F2	Leake, MS	10.5	400			$300,000
November 24	1:32 AM CST	F1	Lawrence, MS	7.0	75			$30,000
November 24	1:43 AM CST	F1	Leake, MS	3.0	75			$120,000
November 24	2:10 AM CST	F0	Stone, MS	0.3	30			$10,000
November 24	2:19 AM CST	F1	Neshoba, MS	4.0	100			$30,000
November 24	2:25 AM CST	F3	Winston, MS	21.0	600	1	2	$2.7 million
November 24	2:40 AM CST	F0	Perry, MS	0.2	30			$10,000
November 24	2:41 AM CST	F1	Lauderdale, MS	12.0	300			$150,000
November 24	2:50 AM CST	F1	Noxubee, MS	7.5	200			$70,000
November 24	2:50 AM CST	F1	Lincoln, MS	3.0	150			$60,000
November 24	3:07 AM CST	F1	Noxubee, MS	5.0	100			$100,000
November 24	3:10 AM CST	F0	Greene, MS	0.3	30			$10,000
November 24	3:25 AM CST	F0	Wayne, MS	0.2	30			$10,000
November 24	4:10 AM CST	F2	Marengo, AL	11.9	200		2	$140,000
November 24	4:35 AM CST	F1	Clarke, AL	3.0	100			$200,000
November 24	4:40 AM CST	F0	Choctaw, AL	0.5	30			$10,000
November 24	4:43 AM CST	F0	Marengo, AL	5.0	50			$30,000
November 24	4:50 AM CST	F1	Jefferson Parish, LA	4.5	75			$250,000
November 24	5:07 AM CST	F1	Dallas, AL	14.7	300		1	$100,000
November 24	5:10 AM CST	F0	Stone, MS	0.2	30			$10,000
November 24	5:28 AM CST	F0	Jefferson, AL	1.0	50			$70,000
November 24	5:49 AM CST	F2	Autauga, AL	49.0	1,400			$630,000
November 24	5:56 AM CST	F0	Dallas, AL	1.1	50			$20,000
November 24	6:00 AM CST	F2	Harrison, MS	1.5	50			$3.0 million
November 24	6:24 AM CST	F2	Autauga, AL	9.7	500		1	$900,000
November 24	6:36 AM CST	F1	Talladega, AL	0.9	50			$80,000
November 24	6:41 AM CST	F0	Talladega, AL	5.7	250			$640,000
November 24	6:48 AM CST	F0	Talladega, AL	3.3	100			$50,000
November 24	6:48 AM CST	F0	Elmore, AL	2.4	50			$120,000
November 24	6:59 AM CST	F2	Talladega, AL	15.2	500	1		$210,000
November 24	7:09 AM CST	F1	Clay, AL	13.7	300			$260,000
November 24	7:10 AM CST	F0	Mobile, AL	0.1	20			$10,000
November 24	7:24 AM CST	F0	Montgomery, AL	4.8	75			$40,000
November 24	7:35 AM CST	F0	Tallapoosa, AL	0.8	30			$10,000
November 24	7:55 AM CST	F0	Baldwin, AL	0.1	30
November 24	8:09 AM CST	F0	Lee, AL	0.2	30			$30,000
November 24	8:55 AM CST	F1	Santa Rosa, FL	1.0	50			$70,000
November 24	10:41 AM CST	F1	Walton, FL	0.2	100			$40,000
November 24	10:55 AM CST	F0	Walton, FL	0.2	50			$10,000
November 24	11:50 AM CST	F0	Bay, FL	0.1	50			$10,000
November 24	2:25 PM EST	F0	Union, SC	0.5	50
November 24	3:03 PM EST	F0	Aiken, SC	0.5	80
November 24	5:25 PM EST	F1	Rush, IN	2.1	50			$100,000
November 24	6:02 PM EST	F0	Wayne, IN	0.1	10			$10,000
November 24	10:10 PM EST	F0	Decatur, IN	0.5	50			$30,000

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.