EF3 tornado, Black Hawk to Minerva, Mississippi, March 24, 2023

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

March 24, 2023

Touchdown

9:12 PM CDT (02:12 UTC)

Lifted

9:42 PM CDT (02:42 UTC)

On the ground

30 minutes

Path length

29.4 miles (47.4 km)

Path width

1,550 yards (1417 m)

Deaths

3

Injuries

5

Property damage

$9.9 million

Crop damage

$5,170,000

Counties

Carroll and Montgomery counties

Touchdown point

33.310, -90.040

Lift-off point

33.510, -89.590

Record number

2303242012-01

151 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS JAN, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF3. The highest wind the damage implies is 155 mph.

• Mobile home pushed backwards with numerous trees snapped in distance
• Several hardwood trees uprooted Small tree limbs scattered across the road
• Multiple softwoods trees snapped and some uprooted, with some snapped near the base. A few hardwood trees were damaged with large branches broken and uprooted
• Old Black water school nearly 100 years old destroyed all walls collapsed

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

In the afternoon and evening of the 24th, clusters of strong to severe storms were stretched from southwest to northeast across southeastern Arkansas as robust instability and very strong wind shear served to produce a volatile severe weather environment. To the east in Mississippi, storm activity proved to be more isolated as deep convection struggled develop across the state. With much of the area not being convectively overturned, an area of thunderstorm activity near the Mississippi River near Vicksburg, MS began to become stronger and took advantage of the open warm sector environment, well east of the competitive storm environment to the west that had thus far impeded tornado development. This area of thunderstorm activity quickly consolidated into an organized supercell and produced a family of long track, strong to violent tornadoes from the Mississippi Delta, across central Mississippi, and finally into portions of northeast Mississippi. This cyclical tornado-producing supercell was responsible for the vast majority of severe weather reports from the day and would claim 22 lives across the state. Dozens more were injured, and hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed by these tornadoes. Having wrought widespread destruction across the area, this tornado event by most any measure represents a historic degree of devastation for the state of Mississippi and the region at large.

This long track tornado began just southwest of Black Hawk in a wooded area with widespread tree damage, including snapped and uprooted trees. Satellite imagery indicates major tree damage of EF2 intensity. It continued northeast before crossing Highway 430, CR 235, and Highway 17. In this area, numerous residential structures were damaged, including 2 homes that were destroyed, with both losing outer walls and another with collapsed brick on the exterior with the interior slab exposed. Large farming equipment was also blown over on the side. No injuries were reported in this area. The tornado was strongest just northeast of here at EF3 intensity, around 155mph, where Black Hawk Independent Church, Historic Blackhawk School and parsonage were completely destroyed. Both the school and church had stood for nearly 100 years. The church steeple was gone with the bell thrown out and not seen by the survey team. The slab to the church remained intact with a few exterior walls standing. A nearby well building made of cinder block masonry stood mostly untouched outside of minor damage to the roof and doorway. The tornado then continued to the northeast before crossing Highway 17 where widespread tree damage and some structural damage continued. It then continued northeast, just north of Highway 243, before crossing Highway 218 and Nebo Rd, where widespread tree damage occurred. Some areas beyond this were inaccessible due to fallen trees. Satellite imagery indicates potential EF2 to EF3 tree damage in the nearby wooded area. The tornado crossed CR 144, CR 163, CR 211, Good Hope Rd and Spring Lake Rd between Burkhead Lake, Spring Lake and Water Lake. In this area, the tornado was an estimated one half to three quarters of a mile wide and caused EF2 to EF3 tree damage to the forested areas. Some damage was noted to structures along these inaccessible areas. It then crossed Enon Rd, where damage was noted to a home, and Highway 35, where widespread tree damage, major roof, and minor siding damage occurred to a mobile home. One mobile home just north of Highway 35 was thrown off the blocks and into a nearby wooded area some 50 yards away. In this location, 3 fatalities occurred. An 18 wheeler tractor trailer was also blown over on the side. Just to the northeast, satellite imagery indicates a structure had major damage, with the majority of it destroyed. The tornado then crossed CR 278 and CR 61, with minor tree damage, but the majority of the more intense tree damage as viewed within satellite imagery occurred in inaccessible areas just to the north. It then crossed Gum Branch Rd before crossing Interstate 55, where ground surveys and satellite imagery indicated the tornado was nearly a half mile wide. The tornado then crossed Highway 51, Stafford Wells Rd and Highway 407, where major roof damage occurred to residential homes consistent with EF2 intensity. The tornado then crossed Highway 82, where numerous power lines were downed, causing high end EF1 to low end EF2 damage. The tornado then crossed the intersection of Bethlehem Community Rd and Bethlehem Church Rd, where EF2 damage occurred. Three outbuildings were destroyed. A home had major roof damage, and another structure moved off the foundation. The tornado then crossed Hammond Rd, causing major tree damage in the wooded areas. The tornado then caused low end EF2 damage just south of Robinson-Thompson Rd, where an outbuilding was destroyed and a nearby 100 year old home had minor to moderate roof and siding damage but was left standing. The tornado lifted as it crossed Robinson-Thompson Rd. The maximum estimated wind gusts in Carroll County were 165 mph. The total path length was 29.57 miles across the two counties.

This long track tornado began just southwest of Black Hawk in a wooded area with widespread tree damage, including snapped and uprooted trees. Satellite imagery indicates major tree damage of EF2 intensity. It continued northeast before crossing Highway 430, CR 235, and Highway 17. In this area, numerous residential structures were damaged, including 2 homes that were destroyed, with both losing outer walls and another with collapsed brick on the exterior with the interior slab exposed. Large farming equipment was also blown over on the side. No injuries were reported in this area. The tornado was strongest just northeast of here at EF3 intensity, around 155mph, where Black Hawk Independent Church, Historic Blackhawk School and parsonage were completely destroyed. Both the school and church had stood for nearly 100 years. The church steeple was gone with the bell thrown out and not seen by the survey team. The slab to the church remained intact with a few exterior walls standing. A nearby well building made of cinder block masonry stood mostly untouched outside of minor damage to the roof and doorway. The tornado then continued to the northeast before crossing Highway 17 where widespread tree damage and some structural damage continued. It then continued northeast, just north of Highway 243, before crossing Highway 218 and Nebo Rd, where widespread tree damage occurred. Some areas beyond this were inaccessible due to fallen trees. Satellite imagery indicates potential EF2 to EF3 tree damage in the nearby wooded area. The tornado crossed CR 144, CR 163, CR 211, Good Hope Rd and Spring Lake Rd between Burkhead Lake, Spring Lake and Water Lake. In this area, the tornado was an estimated one half to three quarters of a mile wide and caused EF2 to EF3 tree damage to the forested areas. Some damage was noted to structures along these inaccessible areas. It then crossed Enon Rd, where damage was noted to a home, and Highway 35, where widespread tree damage, major roof, and minor siding damage occurred to a mobile home. One mobile home just north of Highway 35 was thrown off the blocks and into a nearby wooded area some 50 yards away. In this location, 3 fatalities occurred. An 18 wheeler tractor trailer was also blown over on the side. Just to the northeast, satellite imagery indicates a structure had major damage, with the majority of it destroyed. The tornado then crossed CR 278 and CR 61, with minor tree damage, but the majority of the more intense tree damage as viewed within satellite imagery occurred in inaccessible areas just to the north. It then crossed Gum Branch Rd before crossing Interstate 55, where ground surveys and satellite imagery indicated the tornado was nearly a half mile wide. The tornado then crossed Highway 51, Stafford Wells Rd and Highway 407, where major roof damage occurred to residential homes consistent with EF2 intensity. The tornado then crossed Highway 82, where numerous power lines were downed, causing high end EF1 to low end EF2 damage. The tornado then crossed the intersection of Bethlehem Community Rd and Bethlehem Church Rd, where EF2 damage occurred. Three outbuildings were destroyed. A home had major roof damage, and another structure moved off the foundation. The tornado then crossed Hammond Rd, causing major tree damage in the wooded areas. The tornado then caused low end EF2 damage just south of Robinson-Thompson Rd, where an outbuilding was destroyed and a nearby 100 year old home had minor to moderate roof and siding damage but was left standing. The tornado lifted as it crossed Robinson-Thompson Rd. The maximum estimated wind gusts in Montgomery County were 155 mph. The total path length was 29.57 miles across the two counties.

The deaths

3 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.

40 minutes of warning. NWS JAN issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:32 UTC, 40 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 02:30 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 22:20 UTC and running to 04:17 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 Enhanced Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 01:14 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), 127 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:12 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 2023 tornado in MississippiEvery tornado in Mississippi since 1950Warnings in force in Mississippi nowThe forecast where you are

19 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.