Tornadoes · United States · Mississippi · 2025

EF1 tornado, Shivers to Jaynesville, Mississippi, January 5, 2025

From Shivers to Jaynesville, this EF1 tornado ran 4.0 miles across Simpson and Jefferson Davis counties on January 5, 2025, touching down at 8:32 PM CST and reaching 300 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $41,000 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 mphthis tornado

    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 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
EF1
Date
January 5, 2025
Touchdown
8:32 PM CST (02:32 UTC)
Lifted
8:38 PM CST (02:38 UTC)
On the ground
6 minutes
Path length
4.0 miles (6.5 km)
Path width
300 yards (274 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$41,000
Counties
Simpson and Jefferson Davis counties
Touchdown point
31.738, -89.932
Lift-off point
31.770, -89.875
Record number
2501052032-01

The damage survey

12 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 100 mph.

  • trees down on Will Barber Rd
  • trees down on Silver Swamp Rd
  • abandoned structure damaged at 272 Sonat Rd
  • Older convenience store best represented as single family home with 2/4 sides surrounded by large porch was shifted on its foundation, aided by the weakly ground-secured porch being uplifted. Portion of older/weak roof removed on corner/gable.

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 weak tornado touched down just south of Sills Ferry Road. Along its path, it blew down weak and dead trees, did minor roof damage to a house, and tossed a trampoline. It continued to do weak tree damage before it dissipated just over the Simpson County line.

This tornado touched down near the community of Gwinville. Along its path, it uprooted softwood trees and broke large branches. An abandoned building was damaged. An old gas station was shifted off its foundation and porch was uplifted, with its gabled roof having caught the wind. Another single family home had its porch uplifted. it continued to do tree damage before it dissipated just over the Simpson County line near HWY 13.

This tornado touched down near the community of Gwinville. Along its path, it uprooted softwood trees and broke large branches. An abandoned building was damaged. An old gas station was shifted off its foundation and porch was uplifted, with its gabled roof having caught the wind. Another single family home had its porch uplifted. it continued to do tree damage before it dissipated just over the Simpson County line near HWY 13.

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

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 19:38 UTC and running to 03:41 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
15:00 UTC02:00 UTCWind AdvisoryJAN
19:38 UTC03:41 UTCTornado WatchJAN
02:45 UTC02:52 UTCTornado WarningJAN
03:03 UTC03:23 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.

Jackson, MS (KJAN), 00:00Z

2.5 hours before the tornado, 65 km from the path. January 6, 2025.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Jackson, MS 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 58 joules per kilogram, CIN -5, lifted condensation level 721 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Jackson, MS 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 166 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 45 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
58 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Surface CAPE
289 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
721 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
166 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
211 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3
0-3 km lapse rate
6.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Jackson, MS (KJAN), 12:00Z

9.5 hours after it, 65 km from the path. January 6, 2025.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Jackson, MS 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 1 joules per kilogram, CIN -1, lifted condensation level 744 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, Jackson, MS 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 -156 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 97 knots.1939587897117Sfc1 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
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Surface CAPE
9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
744 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
97 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-156 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
81 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
0.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Brookhaven (1R7), 51 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
00:35 UTC69.864.4170° 15 kt231009.1
00:55 UTC6864.4180° 12 kt221009.5
01:15 UTC6866.2170° 7 kt131009.1BR
01:35 UTC66.266.2150° 6 kt121008.5BR
01:55 UTC64.464.4290° 16 kt281010.2BR
02:15 UTC55.453.6280° 12 kt241011.2BR
02:35 UTC53.653.6280° 9 kt151011.9
02:55 UTC53.651.8290° 7 kt1011.9BR
03:15 UTC51.851.8290° 7 kt1012.2
03:35 UTC53.651.8270° 8 kt1012.5BR
03:55 UTC51.851.8260° 6 kt131013.2
04:15 UTC51.851.8240° 8 kt1013.9

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

The radar

The Jackson/Brandon,MS radar (KDGX), 59 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:33 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
01:10 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Ne BrandonRankin, MSReport from mPING of wind damage similar to 1-inch tree limbs broken or shingles blown off a house.
01:11 UTCTORNADO4 Ese BrandonRankin, MSThis tornado touched down just north of Shilo Road and tracked NE for 11 miles before dissipating just past Leesburg Road. Much of the damage along the path was damaged trees along with uproots and snapped trees, some po
02:18 UTCTORNADO4 E OmaLawrence, MSThis weak tornado touched down just south of Sills Ferry Road. Along its path, it blew down weak and dead trees, did minor roof damage to a house, and tossed a trampoline. It continued to do weak tree damage before dissi
02:31 UTCTORNADO2 Wsw GwinvilleJefferson Davis, MSThis tornado touched down near the community of Gwinville. Along its path, it uprooted softwood trees and broke large branches. An abandoned building was damaged. An old gas station was shifted off its foundation and por
02:47 UTCTSTM WND DMGGwinvilleJefferson Davis, MSEmergency manager reported trees and power lines down near SONAT Rd in the Will Barber area.
02:52 UTCTORNADO1 Wnw Shady GroveSmith, MSThis tornado began along County Road 108 northwest of Shady Grove where a home suffered generally minor damage to gutters and flashing and a couple of trees were downed. The tornado moved northeast where it intensified a

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 58:11 PM CSTEF2Noxubee, MS3.4500$150,000
January 58:18 PM CSTEF0Lawrence, MS6.075$16,000
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.