EF2 tornado, Grace to Nitta Yuma Davis Arp, Mississippi, February 24, 2011

1. EF065 to 85 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. EF186 to 110 mph

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. EF2111 to 135 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.

4. 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.

5. EF4166 to 200 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. 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.

7. 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.

Rating

EF2

Date

February 24, 2011

Touchdown

7:50 PM CST (01:50 UTC)

Lifted

8:01 PM CST (02:01 UTC)

On the ground

11 minutes

Path length

7.3 miles (11.8 km)

Path width

400 yards (366 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$1.0 million

Counties

Sharkey and Issaquena counties

Touchdown point

33.000, -90.960

Lift-off point

33.015, -90.835

Record number

1102241950-02

A line of severe thunderstorms tracked from west to east across the ArkLaMiss region on the evening of February 24th. These storms were prolific wind producers, with measured wind gusts over 50 mph common in areas along and north of the I-20 corridor. As a result, widespread wind damage occurred over portions of southeastern Arkansas, northeastern Louisiana, and northern portions of central Mississippi. Downed trees and power lines were reported across several counties along with some minor structural damage in a few areas. In addition, embedded areas of circulation developed within the squall line. Two tornadoes were confirmed with these areas. The first was an EF-1 that tracked across northern West Carroll Parish, and the other was an EF-2 that tracked from northern Issaquena County into northern Sharkey County.

The tornado started at Grace, where it downed a few large trees and caused minor roof damage to several homes. The tornado continued into Sharkey County, and just after crossing Dry Bend Road it destroyed a metal outbuilding, scattering tin and other debris a mile downstream. Part of the roof of another larger metal building was taken off at the same location, along with a couple of trees snapped. From here the tornado mainly passed through open fields for a couple of miles, although trees could be seen down along some tree lines. As the tornado approached US Highway 61, it turned more east-northeastward and downed more trees and rolled some equipment at a farm shop. As it crossed Highway 61, it snapped or downed at least 6 wooden power poles. It also caused significant shingle damage to a frame home and downed several trees and large limbs. The tornado then moved back into inaccessible farm fields, and is assumed to have dissipated shortly thereafter. Max winds were 115 mph and the total path length was near 7 miles.

The tornado started at Grace, where it downed a few large trees and caused minor roof damage to several homes. The tornado continued into Sharkey County, and just after crossing Dry Bend Road it destroyed a metal outbuilding, scattering tin and other debris a mile downstream. Part of the roof of another larger metal building was taken off at the same location, along with a couple of trees snapped. From here the tornado mainly passed through open fields for a couple of miles, although trees could be seen down along some tree lines. As the tornado approached US Highway 61, it turned more east-northeastward and downed more trees and rolled some equipment at a farm shop. As it crossed Highway 61, it snapped or downed at least 6 wooden power poles. It also caused significant shingle damage to a frame home and downed several trees and large limbs. The tornado then moved back into inaccessible farm fields, and is assumed to have dissipated shortly thereafter. Max winds were 115 mph and the total path length was near 7 miles.

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

10 minutes of warning. NWS JAN issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:40 UTC, 10 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 02:03 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 00:05 UTC and running to 03:33 UTC.

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 Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 00:55 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 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.

The Jackson/Brandon,MS radar (KDGX), 118 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:48 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.

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2011 tornado in MississippiEvery tornado in Mississippi since 1950Warnings in force in Mississippi nowThe forecast where you are

12 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.

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