Tornadoes · United States · Mississippi · 2025

EF0 tornado, Hatley, Mississippi, March 23, 2025

This EF0 tornado ran 1.9 miles across Monroe County on March 23, 2025, touching down at 9:09 PM CDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $2,000 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 mphthis tornado

    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 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
EF0
Date
March 23, 2025
Touchdown
9:09 PM CDT (02:09 UTC)
Lifted
9:11 PM CDT (02:11 UTC)
On the ground
2 minutes
Path length
1.9 miles (3.0 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$2,000
County
Monroe County
Touchdown point
33.978, -88.391
Lift-off point
33.980, -88.358
Record number
2503232009-01

The damage survey

2 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS MEG, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 76 mph.

  • Tree limbs reported down by EM.

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

After days of high pressure, southerly winds returned and advected sufficient moisture into the area providing ample instability across north Mississippi ahead of a cold front. Typical of March, cold mid-level temperatures provided steep lapse rates. These lapse rates combined with deep bulk layer shear, resulting in large hail and damaging winds during the late afternoon and evening. Storm mode began as discrete cells, before congealing into a line where a quick, spin-up EF-0 tornado occurred in Monroe County.

A brief EF-0 tornado touched down near Thornton Ln and Weaver Creek Dr. It produced minor tree damage eastward to Nash Rd where the tornado lifted. This survey was based on the presence of a brief Tornado Debris Signature and damage reports from the area. Peak winds were estimated at 75 mph.

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

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Memphis, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Mar 23, 6:28 PM CDT, 2 hours 41 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

  • Updated at 619 PM CDT Sun Mar 23 2025
  • There is a Slight Risk for severe thunderstorms along and south of a line from Union City, Tennessee to Forrest City, Arkansas into this evening. The primary severe weather threat will be large hail with damaging winds as a secondary threat. A brief tornado cannot be ruled out.
  • Dry conditions and above normal temperatures will prevail for most of the week.
  • Shower and thunderstorm chances return next weekend.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 23, 6:28 PM CDT, 2 hours 41 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Memphis TN
628 PM CDT Sun Mar 23 2025

...New AVIATION...

.KEY MESSAGES...
Updated at 619 PM CDT Sun Mar 23 2025

- There is a Slight Risk for severe thunderstorms along and south
  of a line from Union City, Tennessee to Forrest City, Arkansas
  into this evening. The primary severe weather threat will be
  large hail with damaging winds as a secondary threat. A brief
  tornado cannot be ruled out.

- Dry conditions and above normal temperatures will prevail for
  most of the week.

- Shower and thunderstorm chances return next weekend.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
(This evening through next Saturday)
Issued at 158 PM CDT Sun Mar 23 2025

Surface analysis this afternoon places a warm front over portions
of southern Missouri and western Kentucky. An occluding cold
front is located from western Missouri back into northwest
Arkansas and into the Red River valley. Mostly cloudy skies have
persisted across the Mid-South today with a few warm advection
rain showers occurring below a capping inversion across the area.
Temperatures as of 2 PM CDT range from the upper 60s north to the
70s across north Mississippi. Strong to severe thunderstorm
potential through this evening remains the primary concern in this
afternoon's forecast issuance.

Latest early afternoon ACARS sounding near Memphis still shows a
capping inversion present in the 800-750 mb layer but has been
gradually eroding over the past couple of hours. Latest short-term
trends suggest the aforementioned capping inversion should
continue to weaken for the remainder of this afternoon as height
falls slowly spread across the region into this evening. CAPE
values between 1000-1500 J/kg, steep mid-level lapse rates, and
decent deep layer shear favor large hail as the primary threat,
with a secondary threat for damaging winds. The greatest threat
for severe weather still remains mainly between late afternoon
through mid evening.

Showers and thunderstorms will come to an end behind the front
tonight with high pressure returning to the Mid-South through much
of the week with above normal temperatures. Long-range
deterministic models continue to struggle with a southern stream
shortwave trough moving across the Southern Plains late this week
and into the Lower Mississippi Valley by this weekend. The GFS is
the more progressive outlier compared to the ECMWF and Canadian
solutions. An ensemble blend seems reasonable at this time and no
changes were made to long term rain chances.

&&

.AVIATION...
(00Z TAFS)
Issued at 626 PM CDT Sun Mar 23 2025

Showers and thunderstorms will affect MEM through at least 1Z, and
TUP through at least 2Z ahead of a cold front stretching from the
MO Bootheel back through central Arkansas. Confidence was too low
to include TS at MKL based on recent trends. Otherwise, VFR
conditions expected behind the cold front with southwest winds
veering NW with passage of cold front.

&&

.MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AR...None.
MO...None.
MS...None.
TN...None.
&&

PUBLIC FORECAST...CJC
AVIATION...CJC

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 23, 7:17 PM CDT, 1 hour 52 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Memphis TN
717 PM CDT Sun Mar 23 2025

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0711 PM     Hail             2 E Okolona             34.01N 88.71W
03/23/2025  E1.25 Inch       Monroe             MS   Broadcast Media

            Report of half dollar hail along Hwy 45 near
            Okolona.

&&

CMA
Local storm report, Mar 23, 8:30 PM CDT, 39 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Memphis TN
830 PM CDT Sun Mar 23 2025

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0816 PM     Hail             8 N Gattman             34.01N 88.24W
03/23/2025  E1.00 Inch       Monroe             MS   Broadcast Media

            Report of quarter sized hail on Hatley
            Detroit Road.

&&

JAB
Local storm report, Mar 23, 8:32 PM CDT, 37 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Memphis TN
832 PM CDT Sun Mar 23 2025

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0808 PM     Hail             4 S Troy                34.11N 88.88W
03/23/2025  E1.50 Inch       Pontotoc           MS   Public

            Report from mPING of ping pong ball size
            hail.

&&

CMA
Local storm report, Mar 23, 8:34 PM CDT, 35 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Memphis TN
834 PM CDT Sun Mar 23 2025

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0819 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     1 NNW Houston           33.91N 89.01W
03/23/2025                   Chickasaw          MS   Emergency Mngr

            Tree down on house reported by local
            emergency manager.

&&

JAB
Local storm report, Mar 23, 8:52 PM CDT, 17 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Memphis TN
852 PM CDT Sun Mar 23 2025

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0850 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     4 N Pyland              33.94N 89.10W
03/23/2025                   Chickasaw          MS   Public

            Public report of a tree down.

&&

JAB
Local storm report, Mar 23, 9:02 PM CDT, 7 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report...Corrected
National Weather Service Memphis TN
902 PM CDT Sun Mar 23 2025

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0817 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     4 N Pyland              33.94N 89.10W
03/23/2025                   Chickasaw          MS   Public

            Corrects previous tstm wnd dmg report from 4
            N Pyland. Public report of a tree down.

&&

JAB

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, 172 km from the path. March 24, 2025.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2025-03-24Temperature 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 -8150, lifted condensation level 2084 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°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 2025-03-24The 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 120 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 46 knots.19395878Sfc1 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
-8150 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2084 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
120 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
203 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
6.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Aberdeen (M40), 16 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
00:00 UTC

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

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 10 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:07 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.

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 March 23, 2025

1 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 237:25 PM CDTEF1Sharkey, MS2.450$25,000

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.