Tornadoes · United States · Mississippi · 2026

EF1 tornado, Carson to Terrell, Mississippi, January 10, 2026

From Carson to Terrell, this EF1 tornado ran 5.3 miles across Jefferson Davis County on January 10, 2026, touching down at 4:21 AM CST and reaching 350 yards wide. It killed nobody.

Preliminary. This is NWS JAN's damage survey, filed in the Damage Assessment Toolkit as Carson Tornado. The rating, the path and the casualties are the survey's and can change while it is revised. The Storm Prediction Center compiles the official record of 2026 from these surveys and publishes it in the spring of 2027; this page moves to that tornado's permanent address when it does.

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 survey

Rating, as surveyed
EF1, preliminary
Date
January 10, 2026
Touchdown
4:21 AM CST (10:21 UTC)
Lifted
4:31 AM CST (10:31 UTC)
On the ground
10 minutes
Path length
5.3 miles (8.6 km)
Path width
350 yards (320 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Jefferson Davis County
Touchdown point
31.531, -89.796
Lift-off point
31.569, -89.719
Highest wind the damage implies
100 mph
Surveyed by
NWS JAN
The office's name for it
Carson Tornado
Survey last edited
February 11, 2026
Record number
None yet. SPC numbers 2026 in the spring of 2027.

What the survey found

An EF-1 tornado touched down in the Carson community in Jefferson Davis County. The tornado started just south of Carson on King Lane and tracked northeast crossing Highway 42 on the east side of Carson. There was significant tree and vegetation damage along Old Highway 42 and Alex Daley Road. Numerous trees were uprooted and snapped along Alex Daley Road. A chicken farm was hit just off of Alex Daley Road and sustained substantial damage. Most of the homes in this area had very little structural damage. The tornado continued northeast crossing Haw Pond Road and Highway 35 causing more tree damage. The tornado then continued to Santee Baptist Church Road where it damaged another chicken farm and continued to cause more tree damage. The tornado ended just beyond Santee Baptist Church Road in a wooded area.

Written by NWS JAN in the NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit. A survey is revised as better evidence arrives.

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 100 mph.

  • tree damage evident in aerial imagery
  • Several uproots along roadway
  • Overturned small outbuilding
  • Several uproots both sides of highway

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

Severe storms with sufficient shear and instability produced severe weather across central Mississippi. The main feature, a mesovortex within a broken line of storms, produced several weak, brief tornadoes and some damaging winds in central Mississippi. This event featured multiple rounds of storms as well as heavy rainfall, which led to flash flooding across southeastern portions of the area.

An EF-1 tornado touched down in the Carson community in Jefferson Davis County. The tornado started just south of Carson on King Lane and tracked northeast crossing Highway 42 on the east side of Carson. There was significant tree and vegetation damage along Old Highway 42 and Alex Daley Road. Numerous trees were uprooted and snapped along Alex Daley Road. A chicken farm was hit just off of Alex Daley Road and sustained substantial damage. Most of the homes in this area had very little structural damage. The tornado continued northeast crossing Haw Pond Road and Highway 35 causing more tree damage. The tornado then continued to Santee Baptist Church Road where it damaged another chicken farm and continued to cause more tree damage. The tornado ended just beyond Santee Baptist Church Road in a wooded area.

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 09:49 UTC and running to 12:54 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
17:25 UTC20:58 UTCFlash Flood WarningJAN
22:11 UTC02:15 UTCFlash Flood WarningJAN
01:46 UTC09:49 UTCTornado WatchJAN
02:17 UTC03:54 UTCFlash Flood WarningJAN
09:49 UTC12:54 UTCTornado WatchJAN
09:51 UTC13:00 UTCFlash Flood WarningJAN
10:17 UTC10:40 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningJAN
10:23 UTC10:41 UTCTornado WarningJAN
11:35 UTC13:45 UTCFlash Flood WarningJAN

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 Marginal Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 05:31 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

10.4 hours before the tornado, 91 km from the path. January 10, 2026.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Jackson, MS at 00:00Z on 2026-01-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 173 joules per kilogram, CIN -100, lifted condensation level 763 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 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 2026-01-10The 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 -47 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 72 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
173 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-100 J/kg
Surface CAPE
268 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
763 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
72 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-47 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
69 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.0
Supercell composite
-0.1
0-3 km lapse rate
4.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Jackson, MS (KJAN), 12:00Z

1.6 hours after it, 91 km from the path. January 10, 2026.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Jackson, MS at 12:00Z on 2026-01-10Temperature 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 -19990, lifted condensation level 878 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, Jackson, MS at 12:00Z on 2026-01-10The 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 -364 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 85 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
-19990 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
878 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
85 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-364 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-304 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Jackson/Brandon,MS radar (KDGX), 84 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 10:21 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
07:58 UTCTORNADOWanillaLawrence, MSAn EF-0 tornado briefly touched down in the Wanilla community in northern Lawrence County. The tornado caused very minor tree damage along Smith Ferry Road and Old Highway 27. The tornado dissipated just beyond Old Highw
09:38 UTCTSTM WND DMGMount OliveCovington, MSA tree was downed onto a camper.
10:06 UTCTORNADO4 Wsw StringerJasper, MSThis weak, brief tornado touched down along Jasper Co Road 7. A barn had tin pealed off the roof and a tree was snapped along with other large limbs broken. The path was brief but focused. Max winds were 70 mph.
10:08 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 E StringerJasper, MSA hardwood tree was uprooted along County Road 155. Several small tree limbs were also found scattered along this road as well.
10:10 UTCTSTM WND DMGStringerJasper, MSLarge tree branches were snapped along County Road 157.
10:21 UTCTORNADOCarsonJefferson Davis, MSTrees and powerlines downed on Alex Daley Rd. Roof damage to a home.
10:21 UTCTORNADOCarsonJefferson Davis, MSAn EF-1 tornado touched down in the Carson community in Jefferson Davis County. The tornado started just south of Carson on King Lane and tracked northeast crossing Highway 42 on the east side of Carson. There was signif
10:30 UTCFLASH FLOODRuthLincoln, MSFrom Lincoln County EMA - just updating Lincoln has some roads flooded in normal spots and a couple road washouts in south part of county.
11:00 UTCFLASH FLOODCarsonJefferson Davis, MSRoads around Carson entirely submerged this morning. The roads have since drained.
12:00 UTCFLASH FLOODCarsonJefferson Davis, MSCorrects previous flash flood report from Carson. Roads around Carson entirely submerged this morning. The roads have since drained.
12:00 UTCFLASH FLOOD9 Wnw SalemWalthall, MSA social media post showed widespread flooding along Highway 44, just north of Cazzie Cothern Road. The home was completely surrounded by water at least a few feet deep. Several vehicles appear to be flooded.
12:30 UTCFLASH FLOODSeminaryCovington, MSSeveral roads completely wash out, around 8 ft of water.
13:00 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 Sse Bunker HillMarion, MSCorrects previous flash flood report from 1 SSE Bunker Hill. Road completely impassable due to flooding.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2026 tornado in MississippiEvery tornado in Mississippi since 1950Warnings in force in Mississippi nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of January 10, 2026

6 more have been surveyed in the United States that day, so far.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
January 1012:04 AM CSTEF1Red River Parish, LA0.484
January 101:58 AM CSTEF0Lawrence, MS0.760
January 104:06 AM CSTEF0Jasper, MS0.650
January 105:41 AM CSTEF1Jasper, MS10.4300
January 106:48 AM CSTEF0Cleburne, AL7.475
January 1010:54 AM ESTEF1Carroll, GA1.0150

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. A survey can be revised, so the rating, the path and the casualties can all still change.

Sources

NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit, the record the survey teams file from the damage, and NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Neither is the official database for 2026, which SPC publishes in the spring of 2027.