Tornadoes · United States · Mississippi · 2024
EF1 tornado, Raleigh to Pineville, Mississippi, December 28, 2024
From Raleigh to Pineville, this EF1 tornado ran 13.0 miles across Smith County on December 28, 2024, touching down at 7:46 PM CST and reaching 700 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
- December 28, 2024
- Touchdown
- 7:46 PM CST (01:46 UTC)
- Lifted
- 7:59 PM CST (01:59 UTC)
- On the ground
- 13 minutes
- Path length
- 13.0 miles (21.0 km)
- Path width
- 700 yards (640 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $200,000
- Crop damage
- $50,000
- County
- Smith County
- Touchdown point
- 32.104, -89.574
- Lift-off point
- 32.160, -89.361
- Record number
- 2412281946-01
The damage survey
19 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS JAN, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 90 mph.
- Several tree uprooted, multiple short narrow distinct tracks within a mile
- Few pines down in a narrow swath. Inconclusive.
- Several consolidated snaps
- Numerous pine snaps. Secondary tor path compared to south point
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
On December 28th, an outbreak of severe weather took place. Initially, a few isolated supercells storms developed and produced some tornadoes. As this occurred, a line of storms also developed and eventually pushed eastward across our region. Widespread damaging winds occurred with the line along with numerous tornadoes. This particular convective system was extremely efficient at producing tornadoes. This resulted in a record number of tornadoes for the month of December. The total across our forecast area was 43. The previous December record was 24 back in 2022.
An EF-0 tornado touched down just west of County Road 539 and crossed the road moving east. A few pine trees were downed in a narrow corridor along this road.
An EF-1 tornado began southwest of Burns where it downed pine trees and moved east-northeast. The tornado crossed MS Highway 35 and carried northeastward through portions of the Leaf River bottom before it impacted areas north of Pineville. Trees were downed along County Road 504 with portions of a chicken house damaged with tin panels strewn along County Road 501-4. The tornado then moved northeast along Tally Road where a shed was largely destroyed and large branches were downed. The tornado dissipated along Harris Road with minor vegetative debris noted.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
29 minutes of warning. NWS JAN issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:17 UTC, 29 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 02:15 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 23:22 UTC and running to 02:16 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13:41 UTC | 21:00 UTC | Tornado Watch | JAN |
| 23:22 UTC | 02:16 UTC | Tornado Watch | JAN |
| 01:17 UTC | 02:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | JAN |
| 01:56 UTC | 02:34 UTC | Tornado Warning | JAN |
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 00:58 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.
Jackson, MS (KJAN), 00:00Z
1.8 hours before the tornado, 61 km from the path. December 29, 2024.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 630 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -10 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 538 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 503 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 55 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 45 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 505 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 591 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 2.0
- Supercell composite
- 10.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.3 K/km
Jackson, MS (KJAN), 12:00Z
10.2 hours after it, 61 km from the path. December 29, 2024.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- 0 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 9 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 552 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 51 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 32 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -88 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -45 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.3 K/km
The surface observations
Laurel (LUL), 58 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23:55 UTC | 68 | 65 | 160° 10 kt | 16 | 1010.2 | |
| 00:15 UTC | 67.6 | 64.4 | 150° 12 kt | 18 | 1009.5 | |
| 00:35 UTC | 67.5 | 64.2 | 160° 9 kt | 1009.8 | ||
| 00:55 UTC | 66.7 | 64 | 150° 11 kt | 16 | 1008.8 | |
| 01:15 UTC | 67 | 64.4 | 160° 9 kt | 1009.1 | ||
| 01:35 UTC | 67.3 | 64.6 | 160° 9 kt | 14 | 1009.1 | |
| 01:55 UTC | 68 | 65.3 | 170° 9 kt | 16 | 1009.5 | |
| 02:15 UTC | 68 | 65.7 | 160° 11 kt | 1010.2 | ||
| 02:35 UTC | 67 | 63.7 | 310° 18 kt | 1011.9 | ||
| 02:55 UTC | 60 | 59 | 290° 9 kt | 1011.9 | +RA BR | |
| 03:15 UTC | 60 | 59 | 280° 8 kt | 1012.5 | -RA | |
| 03:35 UTC | 60 | 58.5 | 310° 7 kt | 1012.2 | -RA |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Jackson/Brandon,MS radar (KDGX), 51 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:46 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:24 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Nw Shivers | Simpson, MS | An EF-1 tornado touched down along Walt Lee Road and moved north-northeast on the western side of Pinola. It snapped and uprooted trees along its path. It crossed MS Highway 472 and MS Highway 28, and this lifted as it c |
| 00:25 UTC | TORNADO | 4 Ese Union | Simpson, MS | TDS on cr 472. |
| 01:04 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Sw Jan Airport | Rankin, MS | Tree downed near the UPS facility at Jackson Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport. |
| 01:04 UTC | TORNADO | 1 W Jan Airport | Rankin, MS | This EF1 tornado developed just east of Mangum Dr around River Pines Dr, River Pines Cv, and on the north end of The Refuge where scattered small tree and large limb damage began to consolidate into a more narrow path. T |
| 01:07 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Ne Jan Airport | Rankin, MS | An EF-1 tornado developed in the Dogwood Festival area of Flowood where it caused minor damage and downed small trees at businesses along Lakeland Dr. It strengthened as it moved northeastward, downing many trees and lar |
| 01:08 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Ese Jan Airport | Rankin, MS | Social media report of tree downed, blocking the roadway, on Burnham Rd at the intersection of Crossview Ct. |
| 01:09 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Ne Jan Airport | Rankin, MS | Three power poles were leaning or broken with the lines hanging on the north side of Lakeland Drive near Luckney Road. |
| 01:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Nw Brandon | Rankin, MS | Report from mPING of wind damage similar to 3-inch tree limbs broken or power poles broken. |
| 01:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Ssw Fannin | Rankin, MS | Pine Lake Church damaged, extent is unknown at this time. |
| 01:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 Ne Jan Airport | Rankin, MS | Two pine tree trunks were snapped near the intersection of Manship Road and Emerald Drive. A few fences and tree limbs along Manship Road near Amethyst Lane were also blown down. |
| 01:10 UTC | HAIL 0.7 | 2 Wnw Jan Airport | Rankin, MS | Dime sized hail reported by law enforcement. |
| 01:10 UTC | TORNADO | 5 Ne Jan Airport | Rankin, MS | Trees down on houses along North Grove Circle. |
| 01:10 UTC | TORNADO | 5 Ne Jan Airport | Rankin, MS | Trees down on houses along Brandy Run Road. |
| 01:14 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Ne Brandon | Rankin, MS | est 60-70 mph winds, trees down in the neighborhood. |
| 01:14 UTC | TORNADO | 5 Ne Jan Airport | Rankin, MS | Roof collapsed on a home reported by EM. |
| 01:15 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Wnw Merit | Simpson, MS | This EF1 tornado began along Big Woods Rd where several trees were snapped and proceeded east northeastward resulting in additional tree damage and damaging multiple chicken houses along Jupiter Rd before reaching the ci |
| 01:16 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Se Fannin | Rankin, MS | Half of roof removed at Cypress Point. |
| 01:18 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Ese Fannin | Rankin, MS | Trees down along Stump Ridge Road. |
| 01:20 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Wnw Mendenhall | Simpson, MS | Power poles were snapped onto Highway 149, and roofs were ripped off. Report relayed via SpotterNetwork. |
| 01:34 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 W Magee | Simpson, MS | A Sonic awning was damaged along with a sign off HWY 49. |
| 01:35 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Wsw Mount Olive | Covington, MS | Trees blocking the road. Reported by the EM. |
| 01:35 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Wnw Clem | Jefferson Davis, MS | Trees and power lines down. Reported by EM. |
| 01:39 UTC | TORNADO | 3 E Saratoga | Smith, MS | This EF1 tornado began over far southwestern Smith County, snapping and uprooting numerous trees along its path as it crossed CR 51, MS Highway 35, and CR 47. Large portions of roof were removed from two chicken houses a |
| 01:42 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Ese Lena | Leake, MS | Property damage along the 1100 block of MS Hwy 500 east of Lena. |
| 01:54 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 N Homewood | Scott, MS | Report from mPING of wind damage similar to trees uprooted or snapped, or a roof blown off. |
| 01:55 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 W Taylorsville | Smith, MS | Several trees down near Taylorsville. Mobile homes damaged. Relayed via social media. |
| 02:08 UTC | TORNADO | 4 Sse Bay Springs | Jasper, MS | An EF-0 tornado touched down west of MS Highway 17 were it caused a narrow corridor of convergently felled pine trees. The tornado moved eastward just north of County Road 17253. The tornado was brief - only on the groun |
| 02:09 UTC | TORNADO | 6 Ssw Lawrence | Newton, MS | An EF-0 tornado touched down along Gordy Road south and of Moffett Road where it damaged a barn and continued east. The tornado caused minor tree damage and lifted after crossing County Road 505. Path length 0.65 mi, max |
| 02:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Sse Antioch | Jasper, MS | Tree on a house on Hwy 528. Reported by EM. |
| 02:11 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Nne Dixon | Neshoba, MS | Social media video of tree downed at the CR 410 near Hwy 21. |
| 02:12 UTC | TORNADO | 5 Ese Bay Springs | Jasper, MS | This EF2 tornado began near Lake Como where damage to vegetation and a shed was noted, where tin had been ripped off and scattered near County Road 23 and Road 528. The tornado progressed northeastward just north of Road |
| 02:19 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Wsw Liberty | Newton, MS | An EF-1 tornado touched down near the intersection of MS Highway 15 and Newton Calhoun Road and caused damage to mostly trees as it moved northeast. Many trees were uprooted or snapped along the path, and several barns a |
| 02:27 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Hickory | Newton, MS | Social media picture of large tree limb falling on and causing damage to Friendship Baptist Church. |
| 02:27 UTC | TORNADO | 1 W Hickory | Newton, MS | An EF-0 tornado touched down on the west side of Hickory and crossed US Highway 80 moving northeast. A few buildings were damaged, and minor tree damage occurred. The tornado lifted after it crossed MS Highway 503. Path |
| 02:33 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Chunky | Newton, MS | Roof blown off home, shed destroyed and numerous trees down. Reported by media. |
| 02:34 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Wnw Chunky | Newton, MS | An EF-1 tornado touched down west of Mount Pleasant Church Road and moved north of Chunky. A home lost its roof, a shed was damaged, and numerous trees were damaged or uprooted along its track. The tornado crossed Inters |
| 02:36 UTC | TORNADO | 4 Nnw Pachuta | Jasper, MS | This EF 1 tornado began along HWY 18 in the community of Orange where it damaged a shed by uplifting the tin roof and caused minor damage to trees. A brief second circulation was also noted on the north side where it bro |
| 02:37 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Pachuta | Clarke, MS | Social media report of tree downed along Hwy 18 W, about mile and a half from Interstate 59. |
| 02:43 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Wsw Collinsville | Lauderdale, MS | Social media picture of tree downed on Sharp Road. |
| 02:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Wsw Enterprise | Clarke, MS | Trees down around Enterprise. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2024 tornado in MississippiEvery tornado in Mississippi since 1950Warnings in force in Mississippi nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of December 28, 2024
76 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 28 | 8:22 AM CST | EF1 | Beauregard Parish, LA | 1.5 | 100 | $5,000 | ||
| December 28 | 10:35 AM CST | EF1 | Waller, TX | 10.9 | 150 | |||
| December 28 | 12:05 PM CST | EF3 | Montgomery, TX | 10.3 | 1,675 | 10 | ||
| December 28 | 12:53 PM CST | EF2 | Brazoria, TX | 8.9 | 300 | 1 | 5 | |
| December 28 | 1:37 PM CST | EF1 | Galveston, TX | 7.4 | 850 | |||
| December 28 | 2:26 PM CST | EF3 | Chambers, TX to LA | 67.9 | 880 | 2 | $500,000 | |
| December 28 | 2:55 PM CST | EF1 | Amite, MS | 3.1 | 50 | $5,000 | ||
| December 28 | 3:13 PM CST | EF3 | Franklin, MS | 26.0 | 1,500 | 4 | $1.3 million | |
| December 28 | 3:20 PM CST | EF1 | Vernon Parish, LA | 6.3 | 100 | $5,000 | ||
| December 28 | 3:27 PM CST | EF0 | Vernon Parish, LA | 3.3 | 50 | $10,000 | ||
| December 28 | 3:49 PM CST | EF1 | Vernon Parish, LA | 1.2 | 50 | $5,000 | ||
| December 28 | 4:16 PM CST | EF1 | Madison Parish, LA | 16.2 | 280 | $250,000 | ||
| December 28 | 4:19 PM CST | EF1 | Richland Parish, LA | 5.6 | 130 | $30,000 | ||
| December 28 | 4:28 PM CST | EF1 | Madison Parish, LA | 1.8 | 200 | $5,000 | ||
| December 28 | 4:49 PM CST | EF1 | East Carroll Parish, LA to MS | 17.9 | 300 | $70,000 | ||
| December 28 | 5:06 PM CST | EF1 | Evangeline Parish, LA | 15.4 | 200 | $5,000 | ||
| December 28 | 5:12 PM CST | EF1 | Concordia Parish, LA | 0.4 | 80 | $10,000 | ||
| December 28 | 5:17 PM CST | Unrated | Cameron Parish, LA | 4.3 | 1 | |||
| December 28 | 5:34 PM CST | EF1 | Lincoln, MS | 9.9 | 400 | $25,000 | ||
| December 28 | 5:37 PM CST | EF1 | Jefferson, MS | 9.3 | 750 | $35,000 | ||
| December 28 | 5:40 PM CST | EF0 | Pointe Coupee Parish, LA | 1.9 | 50 | $1,000 | ||
| December 28 | 5:42 PM CST | EF1 | Wilkinson, MS | 11.4 | 50 | $5,000 | ||
| December 28 | 5:46 PM CST | EF0 | Wilkinson, MS | 4.9 | 25 | $2,000 | ||
| December 28 | 5:54 PM CST | EF1 | Claiborne, MS | 4.9 | 300 | $70,000 | ||
| December 28 | 5:55 PM CST | EF1 | Jefferson, MS | 11.1 | 400 | $45,000 | ||
| December 28 | 5:58 PM CST | EF1 | Warren, MS | 4.5 | 500 | $15,000 | ||
| December 28 | 6:00 PM CST | EF0 | Wilkinson, MS | 3.6 | 75 | $1,000 | ||
| December 28 | 6:10 PM CST | EF0 | Warren, MS | 4.1 | 250 | $17,000 | ||
| December 28 | 6:19 PM CST | EF1 | Hinds, MS | 9.4 | 350 | $10,000 | ||
| December 28 | 6:24 PM CST | EF1 | Simpson, MS | 4.6 | 350 | $15,000 | ||
| December 28 | 6:25 PM CST | EF0 | Lincoln, MS | 2.7 | 315 | $10,000 | ||
| December 28 | 6:25 PM CST | EF1 | Hinds, MS | 23.6 | 570 | $105,000 | ||
| December 28 | 6:26 PM CST | EF1 | Lincoln, MS | 6.8 | 300 | $30,000 | ||
| December 28 | 6:28 PM CST | EF1 | Yazoo, MS | 1.2 | 250 | $10,000 | ||
| December 28 | 6:36 PM CST | EF1 | Copiah, MS | 13.0 | 1,500 | $50,000 | ||
| December 28 | 6:38 PM CST | EF1 | Copiah, MS | 2.7 | 500 | $20,000 | ||
| December 28 | 6:41 PM CST | EF1 | Amite, MS | 0.4 | 25 | $3,000 | ||
| December 28 | 6:42 PM CST | EF1 | Amite, MS | 8.6 | 100 | $5,000 | ||
| December 28 | 6:48 PM CST | EF1 | Pike, MS | 6.4 | 75 | $10,000 | ||
| December 28 | 6:49 PM CST | EF1 | Copiah, MS | 11.9 | 1,200 | $62,000 | ||
| December 28 | 6:51 PM CST | EF0 | East Baton Rouge Parish, LA | 2.8 | 50 | $3,000 | ||
| December 28 | 6:58 PM CST | EF1 | Yazoo, MS | 7.3 | 800 | $35,000 | ||
| December 28 | 7:04 PM CST | EF1 | Rankin, MS | 37.5 | 880 | $1.7 million | ||
| December 28 | 7:15 PM CST | EF1 | Jefferson Davis, MS | 0.3 | 200 | $35,000 | ||
| December 28 | 7:17 PM CST | EF1 | Simpson, MS | 10.5 | 800 | $500,000 | ||
| December 28 | 7:39 PM CST | EF1 | Smith, MS | 3.4 | 200 | $30,000 | ||
| December 28 | 7:42 PM CST | EF0 | Smith, MS | 0.6 | 75 | $3,000 | ||
| December 28 | 8:09 PM CST | EF0 | Jasper, MS | 1.0 | 50 | $2,000 | ||
| December 28 | 8:09 PM CST | EF0 | Newton, MS | 2.2 | 100 | $5,000 | ||
| December 28 | 8:12 PM CST | EF2 | Jasper, MS | 9.1 | 900 | $500,000 | ||
| December 28 | 8:18 PM CST | EF1 | Newton, MS | 4.5 | 700 | $25,000 | ||
| December 28 | 8:28 PM CST | EF0 | Newton, MS | 0.5 | 165 | $5,000 | ||
| December 28 | 8:34 PM CST | EF1 | Newton, MS | 2.6 | 650 | $40,000 | ||
| December 28 | 8:36 PM CST | EF1 | Jasper, MS | 11.8 | 500 | $87,000 | ||
| December 28 | 8:47 PM CST | EF1 | Saint Tammany Parish, LA | 1.2 | 50 | $35,000 | ||
| December 28 | 8:49 PM CST | EF1 | Oktibbeha, MS | 2.1 | 300 | $80,000 | ||
| December 28 | 8:56 PM CST | EF1 | Clarke, MS | 0.4 | 80 | $15,000 | ||
| December 28 | 8:59 PM CST | EF0 | Clay, MS | 4.6 | 200 | $40,000 | ||
| December 28 | 9:01 PM CST | EF1 | Lauderdale, MS | 9.0 | 630 | $500,000 | ||
| December 28 | 9:01 PM CST | EF1 | Lauderdale, MS | 9.9 | 700 | $15,000 |
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.