EF3 tornado, Purvis to Rhodes, Mississippi, January 21, 2017

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 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.

4. EF3136 to 165 mphthis tornado

   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

EF3

Date

January 21, 2017

Touchdown

3:35 AM CST (09:35 UTC)

Lifted

4:13 AM CST (10:13 UTC)

On the ground

38 minutes

Path length

31.1 miles (50.0 km)

Path width

900 yards (823 m)

Deaths

4

Injuries

57

Property damage

$9.5 million

Crop damage

$749,500

Counties

Lamar, Forrest and Perry counties

Touchdown point

31.186, -89.480

Lift-off point

31.419, -89.034

Record number

1701210335-01

129 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS JAN and NWS MOB, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF3. The highest wind the damage implies is 145 mph.

• carport collapse and roof damage. power pole snapped. other small sheds destroyed.
• tree debris and a trunk snapped.
• trees and some power line down or leaning.
• roof removed from house. other outbuildings destroyed. numerous pines snapped or uprooted.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

Two rounds of severe weather impacted the ArkLaMiss region - one beginning shortly after midnight on the morning of January 21st and ending shortly before daybreak. The round of storms began during the evening hours on the 21st and ended just before midnight. During the early morning event, areas south of I-20 in Mississippi were impacted. Most notably, an EF-3 tornado tracked through Lamar and Forrest counties, killing four people in Hattiesburg and injuring over 50 others. In addition, damaging winds, large hail and flash flooding occurred in other areas across south Mississippi. The evening event impacted a larger proportion of the ArkLaMiss, and brought wind damage as well as large hail and a strong tornado.

Multiple rounds of severe weather occurred across inland southwest and south central Alabama, inland southeast Mississippi, and the western Florida Panhandle from January 21st to January 22nd, 2017. The prolonged period of severe weather was the result of a longwave trough axis over the southern plains that was very slow to move east, allowing several strong shortwaves to move across the north central Gulf Coast in the southwest upper level flow. The first round of severe weather on the morning of January 21st resulted in 2 strong tornadoes over the WFO Mobile County Warning area along with straight line wind damage. Large hail was the predominate hazard with the second round of storms on the evening of January 21st. A combination of straight line winds and large hail impacted the region on the morning of January 22nd.

This tornado began along Purvis-Oloh Road, about 5 miles west northwest of Purvis. It tracked northeast across portions of Lamar County causing mainly tree damage, uprooting and snapping softwood and hardwood trees. It caused some minor to moderate structural damage as well. The tornado crossed Old Highway 11, continuing to cause mainly tree damage, although at least a few structures were also damaged. The tornado began to gain strength as it reached Slade Road, where some homes received roof damage. As the tornado crossed Sullivan Kilrain Road, additional homes received significant roof and structural damage, especially on Carter Circle and Tatum Camp Road. Comprehensive assessments from Lamar County emergency management officials count 26 homes in the county being destroyed or with major damage and 52 homes receiving minor damage. The tornado continued to gain strength as it crossed into Forrest County. There it struck a subdivision along Nellwood Drive, Lakeland Drive and Crestwood Drive and caused significant damage to many homes. Several homes received significant roof and structural damage. One home sustained significant damage and also was the site of one of the fatalities. As the tornado continued to track northeast, it caused extensive tree damage and powerline damage. It struck a church along Helveston Road, which suffered damage to the top floor. As the tornado approached William Cary College, it intensified to EF3 strength, causing damage to numerous buildings on campus. The tornado then affected a mobile home park, where it downed trees and caused damage to mobile homes. Here, two more fatalities occurred. It then caused structural damage to several homes, churches and businesses on James Street and Alcorn Road. Another|fatality occurred on Alcorn Road, when a tree fell on a home. The tornado continued to track northeast, crossing the Leaf River and headed into Petal. Here the tornado got very wide and continued to cause EF2 type damage to businesses along Main Street and into the neighborhoods on the southern side of the city. Extensive tree|damage occurred and countless homes had minor to major roof damage in the neighborhood south of Hillcrest Loop. As the tornado reached Sun Circle, it intensified to EF3 strength again and caused significant damage to a few homes as well as moderate damage to many homes in the neighborhood. Beyond the subdivision along Sun Circle, the tornado caused tree damage again before reaching Evelyn Gandy|Parkway. It caused structural damage to an AT&T store by lifting the roof of the strip mall. It caused additional roof damage to several homes and a church along the Parkway as well as along Springridge Road and Corinth Road. As the tornado tore across Shawnee Trail, it caused impressive tree damage, which included snapping and uprooting hardwood and softwood trees. As the tornado tracked just south of|HDR Lane, it took down two metal electrical transmission lines. The tornado then destroyed a house along Macedonia Road, as well as causing additional roof to other homes and taking down numerous trees. Additional impressive tree damage occurred along Old Richton Road and Tyroby Lane. The tornado continued to down trees as it|tracked across Old Richton Road into Perry County. Comprehensive assessments from Forrest County emergency management officials count 499 homes in the county being destroyed or with major damage and 632 homes receiving minor damage.||The tornado path length in just Lamar and Forrest counties was 24.2 miles, although the entire path of the tornado in total was 31.3 miles. Along the entire tornado path the total number of homes destroyed or receiving major damage is estimated to be 531 with the number of homes having minor damage estimated at 689. Maximum estimated winds were 145 mph. The maximum path width was 900 yards, which occurred in the Petal area of Forrest County. This tornado affected a large number of forested areas. Approximately 1570 forested acres were damaged, with 1453 acres being privately owned. In total, 4320 acres were damaged from this tornado. The total economic impact was $410,784 in Lamar, Forrest and Perry counties. 777 total acres were damaged in Lamar County, and 400 in Forrest.

This tornado began along Purvis-Oloh Road, about 5 miles west northwest of Purvis. It tracked northeast across portions of Lamar County causing mainly tree damage, uprooting and snapping softwood and hardwood trees. It caused some minor to moderate structural damage as well. The tornado crossed Old Highway 11, continuing to cause mainly tree damage, although at least a few structures were also damaged. The tornado began to gain strength as it reached Slade Road, where some homes received roof damage. As the tornado crossed Sullivan Kilrain Road, additional homes received significant roof and structural damage, especially on Carter Circle and Tatum Camp Road. Comprehensive assessments from Lamar County emergency management officials count 26 homes in the county being destroyed or with major damage and 52 homes receiving minor damage. The tornado continued to gain strength as it crossed into Forrest County. There it struck a subdivision along Nellwood Drive, Lakeland Drive and Crestwood Drive and caused significant damage to many homes. Several homes received significant roof and structural damage. One home sustained significant damage and also was the site of one of the fatalities. As the tornado continued to track northeast, it caused extensive tree damage and powerline damage. It struck a church along Helveston Road, which suffered damage to the top floor. As the tornado approached William Carey College, it intensified to EF3 strength, causing damage to numerous buildings on campus. The tornado then affected a mobile home park, downing trees and causing damage to mobile homes. Here, two more fatalities occurred. It then caused structural damage to several homes, churches and businesses on James Street and Alcorn Road. Another fatality occurred on Alcorn Road, when a tree fell on a home. The tornado continued to track northeast, crossing the Leaf River and headed into Petal. Here the tornado got very wide and continued to cause EF2 type damage to businesses along Main Street and into the neighborhoods on the southern side of the city. Extensive tree damage occurred and countless homes had minor to major roof damage in the neighborhood south of Hillcrest Loop. As the tornado reached Sun Circle, it intensified to EF3 strength again and caused significant damage to a few homes as well as moderate damage to many homes in the neighborhood. Beyond the subdivision along Sun Circle, the tornado caused tree damage again before reaching Evelyn Gandy|Parkway. It caused structural damage to an AT&T store by lifting the roof of the strip mall. It caused additional roof damage to several homes and a church along the Parkway as well as along Springridge Road and Corinth Road. As the tornado tore across Shawnee Trail, it caused impressive tree damage, which included snapping and uprooting hardwood and softwood trees. As the tornado tracked just south of|HDR Lane, it took down two metal electrical transmission lines. The tornado then destroyed a house along Macedonia Road, as well as causing additional roof to other homes and taking down numerous trees. Additional impressive tree damage occurred along Old Richton Road and Tyroby Lane. The tornado continued to down trees as it|tracked across Old Richton Road into Perry County. Comprehensive assessments from Forrest County emergency management officials count 499 homes in the county being destroyed or with major damage and 632 homes receiving minor damage.||The tornado path length in just Lamar and Forrest counties was 24.2 miles, although the entire path of the tornado in total was 31.3 miles. Along the entire tornado path the total number of homes destroyed or receiving major damage is estimated to be 531 with the number of homes having minor damage estimated at 689. Maximum estimated winds were 145 mph. The maximum path width was 900 yards, which occurred in the Petal area of Forrest County. This tornado affected a large number of forested areas. Approximately 1570 forested acres were damaged, with 1453 acres being privately owned. In total, 4320 acres were damaged from this tornado. The total economic impact was $410,784 in Lamar, Forrest and Perry counties. 777 total acres were damaged in Lamar County, and 400 in Forrest.

The tornado entered extreme NW Perry County, MS from|NE Forrest County 2 miles WNW of Runnelstown, MS and continued to|move NE at 45 to 50 MPH before lifting 5.5 miles NE of Runnelstown.|Two main areas along the path had significant damage, with EF-2|category winds between 111 to 125 mph. One was located on Pumping|Station Road 1.3 miles NW of Runnelstown, and the other 2.7 miles NE|of Runnelstown along Cole Drive. Significant tree damage and|sporadic power lines were downed along the track of the tornado. Damage estimates from property were around $105,000 with tree damage estimated at $55,000.

The deaths

4 direct deaths are recorded for this tornado, each with what Storm Data knows of it.

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

38 minutes of warning. NWS JAN issued a tornado warning for this county at 08:57 UTC, 38 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 10:00 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 05:00 UTC and running to 11:50 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 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. 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.

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 Mobile radar (KMOB), 119 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 09:35 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 2017 tornado in MississippiEvery tornado in Mississippi since 1950Warnings in force in Mississippi nowThe forecast where you are

59 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.