EF1 tornado, Perry County, Mississippi, May 6, 2026

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.

Rating, as surveyed

EF1, preliminary

Date

May 6, 2026

Touchdown

7:37 PM CDT (00:37 UTC)

Lifted

7:55 PM CDT (00:55 UTC)

On the ground

18 minutes

Path length

12.1 miles (19.4 km)

Path width

700 yards (640 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Perry County

Touchdown point

31.167, -89.082

Lift-off point

31.175, -88.883

Highest wind the damage implies

110 mph

Surveyed by

NWS MOB

The office's name for it

Beaumont

Survey last edited

June 25, 2026

Record number

None yet. SPC numbers 2026 in the spring of 2027.

Preliminary ground survey confirms EF1 damage beginning along US Highway 98 between New Augusta and Beaumont, with multiple areas of softwood and hardwood trees snapped or uprooted. Two concentrated areas of tree damage were noted along US Highway 98, suggesting multiple subvortices within a broader circulation. The maximum intensity occurred around US Highway 98 with winds around 100 mph. The tornado continued generally eastward, crossing Highway 198 and tracking along or near V L Toussaint Blvd before weakening over the north side of Beaumont. Farther southwest, sporadic tree damage was also observed along Highway 29 south of New Augusta. Satellite data will be examined over the coming weeks to determine the starting point for the tornado, as radar suggests that it likely formed over a wooded area southwest of New Augusta. Further track adjustments are likely once satellite data is available.

After review of available Sentinel 2 satellite imagery the tornado track had major changes to its beginning and end points, width, and intensity. The tornado was found to have began much further west to the west of Highway 29 and just north of Red Hill Road. The tornado traversed forest uprooting and snapping trees along its path, reaching a peak intensity north of Red Hill Road where a large section of forest sustained significant damage. Here wind speeds were likely in the 100 to 110mph range. The tornado evolved into a multi-vortex evident by several notable corridors of tree damage along the main tornado track. The tornado continued east of Highway 29 gradually shrinking in size and weakening. During this period it dropped southeast a bit along FS Road 312 A. The tornado began to re-intensify as forest damage became more noticeable until reaching Highway 98 where ground survey crew assessed damage. Satellite imagery supported the tornado being multi-vortex as several focused corridors of damage became evident as it crossed Highway 98, consistent with ground survey assessments. Afte the ground survey end point, the tornado did continue into the forest causing forest damage across Horseshoe Bend Lake. It then reached the Leaf River where the last evidence of forest damage associated with the tornado was visible on Sentinel 2 satellite imagery. This is the estimated end point for the tornado. The tornado width was also updated to be approximately 700 yards wide. Additional adjustments are possible later as high-resolution satellite imagery becomes available over the next month.

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

109 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS JAN and NWS MOB, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 110 mph.

• Diffuse limbs/small trees down. Mostly south to north
• A couple hardwood and softwood uproots at this location. Large hardwood branches of 3-6 inches in diameter snapped with clear convergence pattern noted. Went expected bound for hardwood uproots.
• Right edge of tornado with trees uprooted.
• Multiple snapped and uprooted trees in different directions

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

13 minutes of warning. NWS MOB issued a tornado warning for this county at 00:24 UTC, 13 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 00:59 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 19:14 UTC and running to 03:58 UTC.

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 Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 19:48 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 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.

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 89 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:36 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.

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

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

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

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

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.

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.