Tornadoes · United States · Mississippi · 2005
F0 tornado, Brooksville, Mississippi, September 25, 2005
This F0 tornado ran 1.0 miles across Noxubee County on September 25, 2005, touching down at 5:24 PM CDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody.
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 mphthis tornado
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.
The record
- Rating
- F0
- Date
- September 25, 2005
- Touchdown
- 5:24 PM CDT (22:24 UTC)
- Path length
- 1.0 miles (1.6 km)
- Path width
- 50 yards (46 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Noxubee County
- Touchdown point
- 33.250, -88.620
- Lift-off point
- 33.250, -88.600
- Record number
- 487
What the Weather Service recorded
Spotters witnessed a tornado briefly touching down and moving across a field just northwest of Brooksville.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
44 minutes of warning. NWS JAN issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:40 UTC, 44 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 22:34 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15:53 UTC | 16:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | JAN |
| 16:40 UTC | 17:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | JAN |
| 17:30 UTC | 18:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | JAN |
| 18:20 UTC | 19:00 UTC | Tornado Warning | JAN |
| 20:52 UTC | 21:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | JAN |
| 21:40 UTC | 22:34 UTC | Tornado Warning | JAN |
| 23:38 UTC | 00:03 UTC | Tornado Warning | JAN |
| 00:32 UTC | 01:17 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, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:49 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.
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.
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), 12:00Z
10.4 hours before the tornado, 170 km from the path. September 25, 2005.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 126 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -23 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 198 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 767 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 31 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 33 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 184 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 245 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 0.4
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.1 K/km
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), 00:00Z
1.6 hours after it, 170 km from the path. September 26, 2005.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1115 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -6 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 1362 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 771 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 37 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 36 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 310 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 443 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.8
- Supercell composite
- 10.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.4 K/km
The radar
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 76 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:25 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.
What was reported nearby
Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:38 UTC | TORNADO 1 | Starkville | Oktibbeha, MS | *** 7 INJ *** THIS TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ON THE EASTERN EDGE OF THE SHERWOOD FOREST SUBDIVISION AND TRACKED NE FOR 3.5 MILES. THE TORNADO MOVED THROUGH THE MSU CAMPUS, UPROOTING SEVERAL TREES AND CAUSING SPORADIC DAMAGE T |
| 19:38 UTC | TORNADO | Starkville | Oktibbeha, MS | *** 4 INJ *** DR. MIKE BROWN FROM MSU REPORTED THAT AS THE TORNADO EXITED MSU CAMPUS, THE UNIVERSITY HILLS MOBILE HOME PARK WAS HIT. NUMBEROUS MOBILE HOMES WERE DAMAGED AN DESTROYED. THERE WERE A FEW MINOR INJURIES. |
| 19:38 UTC | TORNADO | Starkville | Oktibbeha, MS | DR. MIKE BROWN FROM MSU REPORTED A VERY CLEAR SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST DAMAGE PATH ACROSS THE MSU CAMPUS. TELEPHONE POLES WERE SNAPPED. NUMEROUS TREES WERE UPROOTED OR SNAPPED. MANY CARS DAMAGED BY TREE DEBRIS. ONE RV ROLL |
| 19:50 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Starkville | Oktibbeha, MS | TREE DOWN ON A POWER LINE REPORTED BY MSU STUDENT. |
| 20:11 UTC | TORNADO | Starkville | Oktibbeha, MS | MSU CLIMATE LAB REPORTED A TORNADO THAT MOVED THROUGH A MOBILE HOME PARK EAST OF STARKVILLE. MANY MOBILE HOMES WERE DESTROYED. THERE WERE INJURIES, HOWEVER THE NUMBER OF INJURIES IS UNKNOWN. |
| 21:14 UTC | TORNADO 0 | 6 Se Maben | Oktibbeha, MS | THIS WEAK TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN OFF THOMPSON RD AND TOBE HENRY RD. SEVERAL TREES WERE UPROOTED AND A FEW LARGE LIMBS WERE DOWN. |
| 22:21 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Wnw Brooksville | Noxubee, MS | A BRIEF TORNADO WAS SIGHTED ABOUT ONE MILE WEST NORTHWEST OF BROOKSVILLE. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2005 tornado in MississippiEvery tornado in Mississippi since 1950Warnings in force in Mississippi nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of September 25, 2005
44 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 25 | 1:39 AM CDT | F0 | Franklin Parish, LA | 0.7 | 100 | $200,000 | ||
| September 25 | 1:43 AM CDT | F0 | Madison Parish, LA | 4.0 | 75 | $30,000 | ||
| September 25 | 3:17 AM CDT | F2 | Jefferson, MS | 10.0 | 600 | $180,000 | ||
| September 25 | 3:37 AM CDT | F1 | Jefferson, MS | 1.0 | 75 | |||
| September 25 | 3:49 AM CDT | F2 | Jefferson, MS | 5.0 | 800 | 1 | $300,000 | |
| September 25 | 3:54 AM CDT | F2 | Claiborne, MS | 2.0 | 800 | $20,000 | ||
| September 25 | 4:44 AM CDT | F0 | Jefferson, MS | 4.0 | 50 | $40,000 | ||
| September 25 | 5:00 AM CDT | F0 | Monroe, AL | 2.2 | 50 | $80,000 | ||
| September 25 | 8:02 AM CDT | F1 | Claiborne, MS | 0.7 | 50 | $70,000 | ||
| September 25 | 9:21 AM CDT | F0 | Warren, MS | 1.5 | 100 | $10,000 | ||
| September 25 | 12:26 PM CDT | F0 | Warren, MS | 0.5 | 50 | $30,000 | ||
| September 25 | 1:01 PM CDT | F0 | Lamar, AL | 0.1 | 25 | $1,000 | ||
| September 25 | 1:55 PM CDT | F0 | Attala, MS | 2.0 | 75 | $50,000 | ||
| September 25 | 2:04 PM CDT | F0 | Pickens, AL | 5.2 | 30 | $4,000 | ||
| September 25 | 2:05 PM CDT | F0 | Madison, MS | 3.0 | 75 | |||
| September 25 | 2:22 PM CDT | F1 | Lamar, AL | 6.2 | 300 | $140,000 | ||
| September 25 | 2:25 PM CDT | F0 | Smith, MS | 1.0 | 50 | $30,000 | ||
| September 25 | 2:30 PM CDT | F1 | Marion, AL | 2.5 | 40 | $10,000 | ||
| September 25 | 2:38 PM CDT | F1 | Oktibbeha, MS | 3.5 | 75 | 7 | $2.0 million | |
| September 25 | 2:47 PM CDT | F1 | Leake, MS | 1.5 | 100 | $200,000 | ||
| September 25 | 2:54 PM CDT | F0 | Winston, AL | 0.8 | 50 | $30,000 | ||
| September 25 | 2:55 PM CDT | F0 | Tuscaloosa, AL | 1.6 | 80 | $40,000 | ||
| September 25 | 2:57 PM CDT | F1 | Winston, AL | 2.5 | 150 | $20,000 | ||
| September 25 | 3:00 PM CDT | F0 | Fayette, AL | 0.1 | 20 | |||
| September 25 | 3:01 PM CDT | F0 | Jasper, MS | 1.0 | 50 | |||
| September 25 | 3:05 PM CDT | F0 | Tuscaloosa, AL | 0.8 | 50 | $20,000 | ||
| September 25 | 3:06 PM CDT | F0 | Winston, AL | 0.5 | 30 | $3,000 | ||
| September 25 | 3:28 PM CDT | F0 | Hinds, MS | 1.0 | 75 | |||
| September 25 | 3:39 PM CDT | F0 | Pickens, AL | 0.3 | 25 | $2,000 | ||
| September 25 | 3:54 PM CDT | F0 | Greene, AL | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| September 25 | 3:55 PM CDT | F1 | Tuscaloosa, AL | 13.8 | 100 | $10,000 | ||
| September 25 | 3:55 PM CDT | F0 | Tuscaloosa, AL | 0.2 | 25 | |||
| September 25 | 3:58 PM CDT | F1 | Rankin, MS | 2.0 | 75 | $400,000 | ||
| September 25 | 4:05 PM CDT | F1 | Tuscaloosa, AL | 6.7 | 150 | 2 | $250,000 | |
| September 25 | 4:14 PM CDT | F0 | Oktibbeha, MS | 1.0 | 50 | |||
| September 25 | 4:19 PM CDT | F0 | Tuscaloosa, AL | 5.8 | 100 | $20,000 | ||
| September 25 | 4:21 PM CDT | F1 | Lauderdale, MS | 1.8 | 150 | $250,000 | ||
| September 25 | 4:24 PM CDT | F0 | Tuscaloosa, AL | 5.0 | 60 | $10,000 | ||
| September 25 | 5:07 PM CDT | F0 | Rankin, MS | 1.0 | 50 | $10,000 | ||
| September 25 | 5:37 PM CDT | F1 | Greene, AL | 6.0 | 250 | $250,000 | ||
| September 25 | 5:52 PM CDT | F0 | Tuscaloosa, AL | 1.2 | 60 | $60,000 | ||
| September 25 | 5:59 PM CDT | F1 | Tuscaloosa, AL | 4.8 | 125 | $200,000 | ||
| September 25 | 6:14 PM CDT | F0 | Tuscaloosa, AL | 0.1 | 10 | |||
| September 25 | 9:42 PM CDT | F0 | Sumter, AL | 2.8 | 50 | $20,000 |
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.