Tornadoes · United States · Mississippi · 2025

EF2 tornado, Brooksville to Deerbrook, Mississippi, January 5, 2025

From Brooksville to Deerbrook, this EF2 tornado ran 3.4 miles across Noxubee County on January 5, 2025, touching down at 8:11 PM CST and reaching 500 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $150,000 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.

  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.

The record

Rating
EF2
Date
January 5, 2025
Touchdown
8:11 PM CST (02:11 UTC)
Lifted
8:16 PM CST (02:16 UTC)
On the ground
5 minutes
Path length
3.4 miles (5.5 km)
Path width
500 yards (457 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$150,000
County
Noxubee County
Touchdown point
33.245, -88.589
Lift-off point
33.268, -88.537
Record number
2501052011-01

The damage survey

3 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS JAN, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 115 mph.

  • 5 snapped power poles along with numerous softwood and hardwood snapped and uprooted.

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 potent weather system moved across the region on January 5th and produced a round of severe storms across the region into the early morning hours of the 6th. These storms produced damaging winds and tornadoes.

This tornado started just west of Highway 45 north of Brooksville where it snapped a few trees. The tornado continued northeast across Highway 45 and snapped and uprooted numerous trees, along with 5 power poles. The tornado was at its strongest at this point. The tornado continued northeast where it snapped a few more trees and also overturned a Pivot. The tornado ended just north of Dwelling Place Road. The maximum wind speed was 115 mph.

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 01:42 UTC, 29 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 02:45 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 00:57 UTC and running to 03:41 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
15:00 UTC02:00 UTCWind AdvisoryJAN
00:57 UTC03:41 UTCTornado WatchJAN
01:14 UTC02:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningJAN
01:42 UTC02:45 UTCTornado WarningJAN
06:25 UTC15:00 UTCCold Weather AdvisoryJAN

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 Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 00:34 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.

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), 00:00Z

2.2 hours before the tornado, 166 km from the path. January 6, 2025.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2025-01-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN 0, lifted condensation level 475 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2025-01-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 844 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 67 knots.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
475 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
67 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
58 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
844 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
896 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3
0-3 km lapse rate
4.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), 12:00Z

9.8 hours after it, 166 km from the path. January 6, 2025.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2025-01-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -104948, lifted condensation level 765 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2025-01-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -173 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 95 knots.1939587897117136Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-104948 J/kg
Surface CAPE
14 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
765 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
95 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-173 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
32 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
1.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Golden Tri(Awos) (GTR), 22 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
00:15 UTC170° 14 kt1007.1
00:16 UTC62.660.8170° 14 kt1007.1
00:20 UTC170° 16 kt1007.1-RA
00:25 UTC170° 17 kt1007.1-RA
00:30 UTC160° 16 kt1007.1-RA
00:35 UTC160° 14 kt1007.1-RA
00:40 UTC170° 15 kt1007.1-RA
00:45 UTC170° 16 kt1006.8-RA
00:50 UTC170° 15 kt1006.8RA
00:55 UTC170° 15 kt1006.8RA BR
00:56 UTC6261170° 15 kt1006.8RA BR
01:00 UTC170° 13 kt1006.8RA BR
01:05 UTC170° 16 kt1006.8RA BR
01:10 UTC170° 14 kt1006.8RA
01:15 UTC170° 16 kt1006.4RA
01:16 UTC62.662.6170° 16 kt1006.4VCTS RA
01:20 UTC170° 18 kt1006.4RA
01:25 UTC170° 15 kt1006.8RA BR
01:30 UTC62.662.6180° 15 kt1006.8VCTS RA BR
01:30 UTC 1006.8RA BR
01:35 UTC170° 14 kt1006.8-RA
01:37 UTC62.662.6180° 14 kt1006.8-RA
01:40 UTC190° 11 kt1006.8RA
01:45 UTC180° 11 kt1007.1RA
01:50 UTC190° 10 kt1007.1RA
01:54 UTC62.662.6210° 10 kt1007.5RA
01:55 UTC240° 9 kt1007.8RA
01:56 UTC6363280° 9 kt1007.8RA
02:00 UTC290° 14 kt1007.8+RA BR
02:05 UTC290° 14 kt221008.1+RA BR
02:10 UTC290° 13 kt191008.1+RA BR
02:15 UTC55.453.6290° 13 kt241008.1RA BR
02:15 UTC290° 13 kt181008.1RA BR
02:20 UTC270° 11 kt1008.5-RA
02:25 UTC270° 11 kt1008.1-RA
02:30 UTC55.451.8280° 12 kt231008.5RA
02:30 UTC280° 11 kt1008.5RA
02:35 UTC280° 11 kt161007.8-RA
02:40 UTC270° 11 kt1008.5-RA
02:45 UTC270° 11 kt1008.1RA
02:50 UTC250° 11 kt161008.5RA
02:55 UTC240° 9 kt1008.8-RA
02:56 UTC5451240° 8 kt181009.1-RA
03:00 UTC240° 9 kt141008.8-RA
03:05 UTC250° 7 kt1008.5RA
03:10 UTC260° 7 kt1008.5-RA
03:15 UTC250° 7 kt1008.5-RA
03:20 UTC240° 5 kt1008.5-RA
03:25 UTC240° 7 kt1008.5-RA
03:30 UTC240° 8 kt1008.8-RA
03:35 UTC230° 7 kt1008.5-RA
03:40 UTC250° 5 kt1008.5-RA
03:45 UTC250° 7 kt1008.5-RA
03:50 UTC250° 7 kt1008.5-RA
03:55 UTC250° 7 kt1008.5-RA
03:56 UTC5351250° 7 kt1008.5-RA
04:00 UTC250° 7 kt1008.1-RA
04:05 UTC240° 11 kt1008.8-RA
04:10 UTC240° 10 kt1009.8-RA

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 74 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:10 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)ReportWhereCountyRemark
01:40 UTCTORNADO1 Sw BoonWinston, MSCorrects previous tornado report from 1 SW Boon. This EF1 tornado began just west of Jack Warner Road, where it snapped a few trees and caused damage to the roof of a home along with a shed. The tornado continued northea
01:40 UTCTORNADO1 Sw BoonWinston, MSThis tornado began just west of Jack Warner Road, where it snapped a few trees and caused damage to the roof of a home along with a shed. The tornado continued northeast crossing Boon Road and caused extensive damage to
01:42 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Sse BoonWinston, MSEmergency manager reported power lines down and damage to buildings at Crystal Ridge Road/Boone road area. Possible tornado.
01:42 UTCTORNADO1 Sw BoonWinston, MSCorrects previous tornado report from 1 SW Boon. Corrects previous tornado report from 1 SW Boon. This EF1 tornado began just west of Jack Warner Road, where it snapped a few trees and caused damage to the roof of a home
01:52 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 W BoonWinston, MSEmergency manager reported multiple trees down in that area and some on houses on Highway 14 East of Louisville. Possible tornado.
02:11 UTCTORNADO1 Nw BrooksvilleNoxubee, MSThis tornado started just west of Highway 45 north of Brooksville snapping a few trees. The tornado continued northeast across Highway 45 snapping and uprooting numerous trees, along with snapping 5 power poles. The torn
02:13 UTCTORNADO2 Nne BrooksvilleNoxubee, MSPowerlines and poles down.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2025 tornado in MississippiEvery tornado in Mississippi since 1950Warnings in force in Mississippi nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of January 5, 2025

11 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
January 52:04 PM CSTEF1Lincoln, AR1.2300
January 52:19 PM CSTEF2Union Parish, LA9.0650$105,000
January 53:42 PM CSTEF1West Carroll Parish, LA2.2100$30,000
January 57:08 PM CSTEF1Monroe, MS0.7120$10,000
January 57:11 PM CSTEF1Rankin, MS11.1150$160,000
January 57:40 PM CSTEF0Franklin, AL2.4158
January 57:41 PM CSTEF1Winston, MS4.3250$40,000
January 58:18 PM CSTEF0Lawrence, MS6.075$16,000
January 58:32 PM CSTEF1Simpson, MS4.0300$41,000
January 58:52 PM CSTEF1Smith, MS6.2300$70,000
January 58:53 PM CSTEF1Pickens, AL6.9300

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.