Tornadoes · United States · Mississippi · 2016
EF1 tornado, Avera to State Line, Mississippi, February 23, 2016
From Avera to State Line, this EF1 tornado ran 1.6 miles across Greene and Wayne counties on February 23, 2016, touching down at 5:45 PM CST and reaching 150 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $200,000 of property damage.
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 mphthis tornado
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.
The record
- Rating
- EF1
- Date
- February 23, 2016
- Touchdown
- 5:45 PM CST (23:45 UTC)
- Lifted
- 5:47 PM CST (23:47 UTC)
- On the ground
- 2 minutes
- Path length
- 1.6 miles (2.6 km)
- Path width
- 150 yards (137 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $200,000
- Counties
- Greene and Wayne counties
- Touchdown point
- 31.431, -88.535
- Lift-off point
- 31.443, -88.511
- Record number
- 1602231745-01
The damage survey
13 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS MOB, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 105 mph.
- Several trees with weakened root structures uprooted with large limbs snapped. Trailer overturned.
- Numerous pine trees downed or snapped. 75 yards estimated width.
- Numerous pine tree damage.
- Pine trees uprooted and snapped. Damage coincides with operator-defined TVS as well as TDS on KMOB 88D. Estimated width 75 yards.
Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.
What the Weather Service recorded
A strong storm system brought produced numerous thunderstorms across southeast Mississippi. Damaging winds and tornadoes were observed along with very heavy rain.
The tornado initially touched down along MS-63 southeast of the community of Avera. A homestead was affected as it moved northeast. At the homestead...Metal roofing material from a barn was lofted into an adjacent tree. A trailer was also|overturned...with a motor vehicle moved from its initial position. Some minor structural damage to the barn was also noted. Numerous (mostly) pine trees were either blown down or snapped as the storm headed into a less populated area of the county. The tornado lifted just east-southeast of Avera.
A second brief tornado touchdown was found in|vicinity of Shady Hollow Road in northern Greene County. A couple|of trees with large branches were sheared in a forested area|several dozen yards to the west of the road. The tornado quickly|moved across the road...EF1 damage was noted as many pine trees|were either uprooted or snapped. Damage in this area coincides|with an operator-defined tornado vortex signature...As well as a|tornadic debris signature from the mobile wsr-88d.
The storm survey team found a third tornado touchdown in a heavily wooded area near the Greene/Wayne county line. Numerous large diameter (greater than 2 feet) hardwood and pine trees were either snapped near the base of the trunk or |uprooted. Significant damage occurred to a log cabin built in 1909 just inside the Wayne County line...with window panes blown out and large portions of the roof destroyed. A detached outbuilding...built roughly at the same time...was destroyed by a large tree falling on its north side. The tornado continued affecting mostly wooded areas before lifting just to the northeast of Woulard Bend River Road.
The storm survey team found a third tornado touchdown in a heavily wooded area near the Greene/Wayne county line. Numerous large diameter (greater than 2 feet) hardwood and pine trees were either snapped near the base of the trunk or |uprooted. Significant damage occurred to a log cabin built in 1909 just inside the Wayne County line...with window panes blown out and large portions of the roof destroyed. A detached outbuilding...built roughly at the same time...was destroyed by a large tree falling on its north side. The tornado continued affecting mostly wooded areas before lifting just to the northeast of Woulard Bend River Road.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
19 minutes of warning. NWS MOB issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:26 UTC, 19 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:58 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 20:15 UTC and running to 04:00 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18:00 UTC | 00:00 UTC | Wind Advisory | MOB |
| 20:15 UTC | 04:00 UTC | Tornado Watch | MOB |
| 22:07 UTC | 22:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB |
| 22:08 UTC | 23:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB |
| 22:44 UTC | 23:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | MOB |
| 23:00 UTC | 23:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB |
| 23:26 UTC | 23:58 UTC | Tornado Warning | MOB |
| 23:44 UTC | 00:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB |
| 00:06 UTC | 03:00 UTC | Flash Flood Warning | MOB |
| 00:35 UTC | 01:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB |
| 00:36 UTC | 01:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB |
| 01:17 UTC | 02:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB |
| 01:34 UTC | 03:30 UTC | Flood Advisory | MOB |
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 Moderate Risk, with a 0.15 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 20:00 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.
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.
Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), 12:00Z
11.8 hours before the tornado, 173 km from the path. February 23, 2016.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 42 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -33 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 6 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 667 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 21 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 118 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 129 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.2 K/km
The radar
The Mobile radar (KMOB), 88 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:45 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22:45 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | New Augusta | Perry, MS | SPOTTER REPORTED FUNNEL CLOUD CROSSING HWY 98 E OF NEW AGUSTA. COULD NOT CONFIRM ON THE GROUND OR NOT. |
| 23:08 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 Ese Richton | Perry, MS | MINOR ROOF DAMAGE TO A HOME ON GAINES BREWER ROAD. A SMALL GREENHOUSE WAS ALSO DAMAGED. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. |
| 23:11 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 Ene Laurel | Jones, MS | TREE DOWN ON BROWN DRIVE IN THE POWERS COMMUNITY. |
| 23:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Ene Sandersville | Jones, MS | A TREE WAS DOWN ON MCFARLAND ROAD. |
| 23:21 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Nw Sand Hill | Greene, MS | A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM BLEW FARM EQUIPMENT AROUND...AN ALUMINUM BOAT INTO A POND...AND A GATE OFF A FENCE. IN ADDITION...TOPS WERE BLOWN OFF SEVERAL LARGE OAK TREES. |
| 23:25 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Se Avera | Greene, MS | A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ALONG MS-63 SOUTHEAST OF THE COMMUNITY OF AVERA. A HOMESTEAD WAS AFFECTED WITH METAL ROOFING MATERIAL FROM A BARN LOFTED INTO AN ADJACENT TREE. A TRAILER WAS ALSO OVERTURNED...WITH A MOTOR VEHICLE |
| 23:25 UTC | TORNADO | 4 Ne Byrd | Greene, MS | BARN DESTROYED ABOUT 1 MILE S. OF NEELY-AVERA RD. AND 1/4 MILE E. OF HWY 63. |
| 23:26 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Nnw Lightsey | Wayne, MS | TWO TREES DOWN ON PLEASANT GROVE SANDERSVILLE RD. NEAR JACK CLARK RD. |
| 23:32 UTC | TORNADO | 5 E Avera | Greene, MS | A BRIEF TORNADO TOUCHDOWN OCCURRED IN THE VICINITY OF SHADY HOLLOW ROAD. A COUPLE OF TREES WITH LARGE BRANCHES WERE SHEARED IN A FORESTED AREA SEVERAL DOZEN YARDS TO THE WEST OF THE ROAD. EF-1 DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED AS NUME |
| 23:35 UTC | DOWNBURST | 7 N Jonathan | Greene, MS | DOWNBURST WINDS ON THE LEADING EDGE OF A BOW ECHO. LARGE PINE TREES UPROOTED OR SNAPPED...WITH TREES LAYING IN THE SAME DIRECTION. |
| 23:36 UTC | DOWNBURST | 9 Nne Jonathan | Greene, MS | SEVERAL PINE TREES UPROOTED OR SNAPPED LAYING IN THE SAME DIRECTION. A 40 X 52 STORAGE BUILDING WAS DESTROYED WITH DAMAGE TO SIDING OF A MOBILE HOME. |
| 23:38 UTC | DOWNBURST | 8 Sw State Line | Greene, MS | SEVERAL PINE TREES UPROOTED OR SNAPPED...LAYING IN THE SAME DIRECTION. |
| 23:39 UTC | DOWNBURST | 6 Sw State Line | Greene, MS | SEVERAL PINE TREES UPROOTED AND SNAPPED...LAYING IN THE SAME DIRECTION. |
| 23:40 UTC | TORNADO | Avera | Greene, MS | TORNADO DAMAGE...TREES DOWN BETWEEN AVERA AND KNOBTOWN MS. |
| 23:45 UTC | TORNADO | 4 W State Line | Greene, MS | A TORNADO TOUCHDOWN OCCURRED IN A HEAVILY WOODED AREA NEAR THE GREEN/WAYNE COUNTY LINE. EF-1 DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED AS NUMEROUS LARGE DIAMETER...GREATER THAN 2 FEET...HARDWOOD AND PINE TREES WERE EITHER SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. |
| 23:47 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 W State Line | Wayne, MS | TREES AND DEBRIS AT 6 HENDERSON JAMES RD. NEAR GREENE COUNTY LINE. |
| 23:48 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Sw State Line | Wayne, MS | TREES DOWN ON STATELINE BATTLES RD. NEAR GREENE COUNTY. RESIDENTS UNABLE TO GET OUT OF DRIVEWAY. |
| 00:00 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 1 W State Line | Wayne, MS | WOUKARD BEND RIVER ROAD FLOODED FROM INTERSECTION OF HENDERSON JAMES ROAD TO STATELINE BATTLES ROAD. SEVERAL AREAS OF ROAD COMPLETELY UNDER WATER. |
| 02:00 UTC | FLOOD | 8 Sw State Line | Greene, MS | FLOODING OF ROADS REPORTED IN OLD AVERY COMMUNITY |
| 02:00 UTC | FLOOD | Jonathan | Greene, MS | FLOODING OF ROADS REPORTED IN JONATHAN COMMUNITY |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2016 tornado in MississippiEvery tornado in Mississippi since 1950Warnings in force in Mississippi nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of February 23, 2016
38 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 23 | 5:53 AM CST | EF0 | Wharton, TX | 2.0 | 30 | |||
| February 23 | 11:11 AM CST | EF0 | Jefferson Parish, LA | 0.6 | 50 | |||
| February 23 | 11:20 AM CST | EF0 | Iberville Parish, LA | 3.3 | 50 | |||
| February 23 | 12:08 PM CST | EF0 | Ascension Parish, LA | 1.6 | 200 | |||
| February 23 | 12:42 PM CST | EF2 | Livingston Parish, LA | 4.3 | 625 | |||
| February 23 | 1:14 PM CST | EF0 | Saint Helena Parish, LA | 0.3 | 50 | |||
| February 23 | 2:37 PM CST | EF1 | St. Mary Parish, LA | 2.6 | 50 | $40,000 | ||
| February 23 | 3:10 PM CST | EF0 | Iberville Parish, LA | 1.0 | 200 | |||
| February 23 | 3:21 PM CST | EF3 | Assumption Parish, LA | 7.8 | 350 | |||
| February 23 | 3:31 PM CST | EF2 | Saint James Parish, LA | 12.9 | 350 | 2 | 75 | |
| February 23 | 3:45 PM CST | EF1 | Lincoln, MS | 0.5 | 75 | $40,000 | ||
| February 23 | 3:49 PM CST | EF1 | Pearl River, MS | 9.5 | 150 | |||
| February 23 | 3:50 PM CST | EF1 | Pearl River, MS | 5.2 | 200 | $25,000 | ||
| February 23 | 4:07 PM CST | EF0 | Lamar, MS | 0.1 | 25 | $5,000 | ||
| February 23 | 4:15 PM CST | EF1 | Saint John the Baptist Parish, LA | 3.1 | 250 | |||
| February 23 | 4:15 PM CST | EF2 | Lamar, MS | 5.6 | 100 | 1 | $105,000 | |
| February 23 | 4:22 PM CST | EF0 | Pickens, AL | 4.8 | 150 | |||
| February 23 | 4:29 PM CST | EF1 | Lamar, MS | 1.4 | 75 | $10,000 | ||
| February 23 | 4:32 PM CST | EF2 | Saint John the Baptist Parish, LA | 4.7 | 250 | 17 | ||
| February 23 | 4:41 PM CST | EF0 | Saint Tammany Parish, LA | 0.4 | 25 | |||
| February 23 | 4:42 PM CST | EF0 | Yazoo, MS | 1.1 | 100 | $25,000 | ||
| February 23 | 4:46 PM CST | EF0 | Simpson, MS | 0.6 | 40 | $13,000 | ||
| February 23 | 5:13 PM CST | EF0 | Saint Tammany Parish, LA | 1.5 | 75 | |||
| February 23 | 5:25 PM CST | EF1 | Greene, MS | 1.5 | 75 | $100,000 | ||
| February 23 | 5:32 PM CST | EF1 | Greene, MS | 0.0 | 75 | $25,000 | ||
| February 23 | 6:01 PM CST | EF1 | Marion, AL | 2.2 | 300 | |||
| February 23 | 6:01 PM CST | EF0 | Forrest, MS | 3.9 | 75 | $15,000 | ||
| February 23 | 8:10 PM CST | EF3 | Escambia, FL | 3.0 | 300 | 3 | $22 million | |
| February 23 | 8:17 PM CST | EF1 | Santa Rosa, FL | 2.7 | 100 | $75,000 | ||
| February 23 | 10:15 PM CST | EF0 | Houston, AL | 2.8 | 200 | $50,000 | ||
| February 23 | 10:24 PM CST | EF1 | Dale, AL | 4.8 | 200 | |||
| February 23 | 10:31 PM CST | EF1 | Houston, AL | 1.6 | 350 | $50,000 | ||
| February 23 | 10:34 PM CST | EF1 | Houston, AL | 3.7 | 900 | $75,000 | ||
| February 23 | 10:38 PM CST | EF1 | Henry, AL | 1.1 | 300 | $50,000 | ||
| February 23 | 10:54 PM CST | EF0 | Henry, AL | 0.4 | 100 | |||
| February 23 | 11:02 PM CST | EF1 | Henry, AL | 0.5 | 150 | |||
| February 23 | 12:07 AM EST | EF1 | Early, GA | 2.2 | 350 | |||
| February 23 | 12:55 AM EST | EF1 | Terrell, GA | 5.1 | 200 |
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.