2008 tornadoes in Mississippi

109 tornadoes touched down in Mississippi in 2008, 190 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 3 people and injured 88.

2007 2009 The whole country in 2008

The rating scale

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

EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 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.
EF3136 to 165 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
EF5over 200 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 2008

January 8 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
January 8	3:30 PM CST	EF0	Jefferson	4.9	50
January 8	5:37 PM CST	EF1	Simpson	19.4	125	$400,000
January 8	6:11 PM CST	EF0	Rankin	0.4	50	$12,000

January 10 9 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
January 10	11:27 AM CST	EF1	Claiborne	3.1	250		$20,000
January 10	11:51 AM CST	EF3	Holmes	9.7	1,320	3	$3.0 million
January 10	12:28 PM CST	EF3	Attala	23.6	880	3	$4.0 million
January 10	12:39 PM CST	EF0	Rankin	1.8	40
January 10	1:42 PM CST	EF0	Neshoba	1.5	75		$130,000
January 10	1:54 PM CST	EF1	Tishomingo	2.8	100		$25,000
January 10	2:09 PM CST	EF3	Lowndes to AL	13.3	2,500	11	$7.1 million
January 10	2:58 PM CST	EF1	Noxubee	1.9	75		$30,000
January 10	3:02 PM CST	EF0	Noxubee	0.8	40

February 5 9 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
February 5	4:45 PM CST	EF0	Bolivar	3.4	50			$70,000
February 5	5:18 PM CST	EF0	DeSoto	2.6	100			$50,000
February 5	5:32 PM CST	EF2	DeSoto to TN	10.2	440	3	13	$128 million
February 5	5:53 PM CST	EF0	Panola	0.2	25			$12,000
February 5	5:57 PM CST	EF1	Lafayette	6.9	25			$25,000
February 5	5:57 PM CST	EF3	Lafayette	7.2	1,000		14	$35 million
February 5	6:36 PM CST	EF0	Tippah	1.4	50			$50,000
February 5	6:50 PM CST	EF0	Tippah	2.5	50			$100,000
February 5	6:56 PM CST	EF1	Alcorn	2.6	100		4	$250,000

February 6 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
February 6	12:46 AM CST	EF0	Yazoo	4.8	75	$180,000
February 6	1:25 AM CST	EF1	Leake	1.5	50
February 6	1:55 AM CST	EF0	Noxubee	1.7	50

February 12 7 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
February 12	11:37 AM CST	EF0	Harrison	0.1	20
February 12	12:45 PM CST	EF1	Rankin	3.2	400	$1.0 million
February 12	1:07 PM CST	EF1	Rankin	2.7	250	$200,000
February 12	1:21 PM CST	EF0	Pike	0.1	20
February 12	1:45 PM CST	EF0	Smith	0.7	150	$25,000
February 12	1:53 PM CST	EF1	Covington	1.5	100	$200,000
February 12	2:07 PM CST	EF1	Jasper	0.9	100	$20,000

March 3 11 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
March 3	3:50 PM CST	EF1	Amite	1.5	250		$150,000
March 3	5:17 PM CST	EF0	Sharkey	0.9	50
March 3	5:25 PM CST	EF2	Sharkey	7.0	440		$2,000
March 3	9:01 PM CST	EF1	Simpson	0.4	75		$5,000
March 3	9:10 PM CST	EF1	Simpson	1.9	150		$300,000
March 3	9:25 PM CST	EF1	Marion	0.6	50		$250,000
March 3	9:43 PM CST	EF1	Scott	2.1	100		$5,000
March 3	9:49 PM CST	EF1	Scott	4.0	175		$1.2 million
March 3	10:49 PM CST	EF0	Kemper	1.3	30		$55,000
March 3	11:12 PM CST	EF1	Forrest	1.1	100	14	$1.5 million
March 3	11:20 PM CST	EF2	Clarke	8.3	350		$400,000

April 4 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
April 4	11:23 AM CDT	EF1	Warren	3.7	300	1	$1.2 million
April 4	11:52 AM CDT	EF1	Warren	2.2	209		$120,000
April 4	12:11 PM CDT	EF1	Hinds	2.7	300		$50,000
April 4	12:17 PM CDT	EF1	Hinds	2.2	200		$80,000
April 4	12:28 PM CDT	EF2	Hinds	13.0	900	20	$46 million

April 18 7 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
April 18	3:31 PM CDT	EF1	Copiah	13.9	50		$123,000
April 18	4:00 PM CDT	EF1	Hinds	3.7	100		$450,000
April 18	4:50 PM CDT	EF1	Madison	8.2	75		$350,000
April 18	4:52 PM CDT	EF1	Leake	6.0	150		$100,000
April 18	5:18 PM CDT	EF1	Leake	1.6	75		$160,000
April 18	5:33 PM CDT	EF1	Leake	7.8	75		$200,000
April 18	6:04 PM CDT	EF1	Winston	8.9	500	1	$3.0 million

May 2 7 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 2	5:48 PM CDT	EF2	Union	3.1	440	$250,000
May 2	6:00 PM CDT	EF2	Union	0.5	100	$75,000
May 2	6:12 PM CDT	EF1	Union	3.5	75	$50,000
May 2	6:41 PM CDT	EF1	Prentiss	13.8	150	$100,000
May 2	7:32 PM CDT	EF0	Washington	3.0	50
May 2	8:07 PM CDT	EF1	Bolivar	9.7	200	$20,000
May 2	12:49 AM CDT	EF1	Leflore	1.3	300	$40,000

May 8 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 8	8:01 AM CDT	EF3	Lee	7.6	200	$1.5 million
May 8	8:42 AM CDT	EF2	Itawamba	1.4	100	$150,000
May 8	9:15 AM CDT	EF0	Lafayette	2.2	50	$25,000

May 10 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 10	9:33 PM CDT	EF1	Quitman	0.3	30			$25,000
May 10	10:15 PM CDT	EF1	Tallahatchie	8.7	100		2	$185,000

May 15 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 15	10:05 AM CDT	EF1	Lamar	15.4	600			$710,000
May 15	10:15 AM CDT	EF1	Forrest	1.3	150			$80,000

September 1 9 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
September 1	1:18 PM CDT	EF0	Forrest	0.5	25	$2,000
September 1	1:34 PM CDT	EF0	Lamar	2.0	30	$2,000
September 1	1:45 PM CDT	EF0	Lamar	3.1	50	$10,000
September 1	2:00 PM CDT	EF0	Jefferson Davis	1.3	50	$2,000
September 1	2:31 PM CDT	EF0	Jasper	0.7	25
September 1	2:40 PM CDT	EF0	Jasper	0.6	25
September 1	3:31 PM CDT	EF0	Clarke	2.0	50	$10,000
September 1	4:35 PM CDT	EF1	Scott	6.0	100	$20,000
September 1	4:40 PM CDT	EF0	Rankin	0.8	25

September 2 12 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
September 2	3:23 AM CDT	EF0	Smith	0.3	25
September 2	7:40 AM CDT	EF0	Smith	1.0	25
September 2	8:44 AM CDT	EF0	Jones	0.4	30	$80,000
September 2	9:19 AM CDT	EF0	Jones	0.7	25	$5,000
September 2	10:12 AM CDT	EF0	Newton	4.1	40	$13,000
September 2	1:47 PM CDT	EF0	Lincoln	0.3	30
September 2	2:48 PM CDT	EF1	Covington	5.0	75	$425,000
September 2	3:17 PM CDT	EF1	Copiah	2.5	100	$200,000
September 2	3:26 PM CDT	EF0	Yalobusha	0.0	25	$200
September 2	3:45 PM CDT	EF0	Copiah	1.5	40
September 2	4:17 PM CDT	EF0	Lafayette	0.1	25
September 2	5:04 PM CDT	EF0	Lincoln	0.4	30

September 3 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 3	2:31 PM CDT	EF0	Warren	0.2	30			$150,000
September 3	3:50 PM CDT	EF0	Franklin	5.5	50			$100,000

September 13 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 13	2:51 PM CDT	EF0	Claiborne	1.9	50

October 7 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 7	7:55 PM CDT	EF1	Pontotoc	0.1	30			$15,000

December 9 14 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
December 9	3:23 PM CST	EF0	Sharkey	1.4	50
December 9	4:15 PM CST	EF0	Humphreys	0.8	50
December 9	4:50 PM CST	EF2	Yazoo	28.6	450	$1.4 million
December 9	6:37 PM CST	EF1	Montgomery	0.8	75	$110,000
December 9	7:21 PM CST	EF1	Adams	3.1	800	$2.5 million
December 9	7:27 PM CST	EF1	Attala	2.3	150	$300,000
December 9	7:46 PM CST	EF1	Jefferson	10.6	500	$350,000
December 9	8:34 PM CST	EF1	Copiah	1.6	75	$20,000
December 9	8:39 PM CST	EF0	Copiah	1.9	75	$12,000
December 9	9:05 PM CST	EF2	Rankin	1.0	300	$800,000
December 9	9:09 PM CST	EF1	Rankin	5.3	500	$100,000
December 9	9:21 PM CST	EF1	Rankin	2.4	200	$100,000
December 9	11:12 PM CST	EF0	Lawrence	1.3	50
December 9	11:24 PM CST	EF1	Jefferson Davis	3.4	50	$100,000

December 10 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
December 10	1:08 AM CST	EF1	Jones	1.0	150		2	$250,000
December 10	1:13 AM CST	EF1	Lamar	0.6	100			$700,000

Crossed into Mississippi

Tornadoes that touched down in a neighboring state and ran into Mississippi. They are counted under the state they began in.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
February 5	5:32 PM CST	EF1	Tipton, TN to MS	0.3	50			$50,000

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.