A dozen tornadoes have been confirmed in Mississippi; surveys likely to confirm more

Published 8:30 pm Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Mississippi was struck by at least a dozen tornadoes during a rare summertime severe weather outbreak. Storms Sunday and Monday killed at least one person and injured at least 30 across the state.

The strongest tornado and the storm that killed one person and injured two dozen others was in Jasper County between Bay Spring and Louin. The storm had winds up to 150 miles per hour.

Storms in the same area, possibly the same storm, dropped two EF-1 tornadoes with winds of 90 and 107 miles per hour, along with two EF-0 tornadoes with winds of 80 miles per hour each. These confirmed tornado paths were near Raleigh and smaller communities in Smith County.

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There were also severe tornadoes confirmed in Metro Jackson. In Madison County, an EF-1 with winds of 90 miles per hour formed inside the City of Ridgeland. An EF-2 with winds of 115 miles per hour struck near Florence in Rankin County. Also in Rankin County were an EF-0 with winds of 80 miles per hour near Star, an EF-1 with winds reaching 90 miles per hour near Langford, an EF-0 with winds of 75 miles per hour north of Pelahatchie, and an EF-1 with winds near 100 miles per hour just north of Polkville, right on the Smith/Rankin County line.

Another strong tornado struck Moss Point in Jackson County. Winds reached up to 130 miles per hour. There were six people injured in this Monday afternoon storm.