NWS Jackson, MS February 5-6, 2008 Severe Weather

February 5th and 6th Severe Weather

     With nearly 2 months of winter left, it was unseasonably warm for the first week of February. A warm front moved north through the region early in the week, bringing a warm, moist and unstable air-mass to the area. A potent low pressure system and cold front developed over North Texas early Tuesday. As the area of low pressure deepened and tracked northeast across Central Oklahoma and Northwest Arkansas into the Midwest US, deepening moisture along with increasing instability and winds, lead to a tornado outbreak across the Southeast US. This was just the first round of severe storms to impact the region. A line of storms developed along a pre-frontal trough early Tuesday evening and quickly moved east across the area through early Wednesday morning. Many of the storms exhibited strong rotation on the radar, but moved through rural areas. In the wake of both sets of storms, tornadoes were spawned, knocking down trees and limbs. Strong winds knocked down power poles and caused power outages, in addition to damage caused by large hail. Five tornado paths have been found so far, 2 EF-1 and 3 EF-0 tornadoes have been confirmed. More storm surveys were being done in Northeast Louisiana. Luckily, the AKLAMISS escaped the devastating damage and casualties that occurred in nearby areas. No injuries or fatalities have been reported so far in the Jackson Forecast Office county warning area.
February 5 - Tornadoes Tuesday Afternoon
    Supercells developed across the ARKLATEX Tuesday morning and moved into the unstable air over the ARKLAMSS by late afternoon. Around 3 pm, severe storms moved into rural Morehouse parish in Northeast Louisiana. The same storm spawned an E-F1 tornado around Hamburg in Ashley County Arkansas. Golfball to Softball sized hail was reported in Ashley and Chicot counties as the storms swept through extreme Southeast Arkansas. A tornado developed about a mile south of Hamburg and had a path length of a quarter mile. The roof was peeled back off the roof of a school. Several trees were uprooted or snapped near the school. Around town, several trees and power lines were blown down. As the storm moved into Chicot County, softball sized hail caused shingle damage to 10 homes and 10 cars near Dermott. A couple of trees were uprooted a few miles southeast of Halley.

    As more storms developed and moved across the Mississippi River, a tornado developed near Rosedale in Bolivar County around 440 pm. The EF-0 tornado had a 3 mile path length. The roof was partially blown off a mobile home, a LP gas tank was blown over and golfball sized hail was reported in the Malvina community. A large tree was uprooted in Rosedale.
February 5/6 - Squall Line Tuesday night into Wednesday morning
    There was break in the activity for a few hours in the evening. A squall developed over the ARKLATEX Tuesday evening and gradually shifted east. The line slowly moved across Louisiana and Arkansas, where more severe storms developed. Breaks in the line and lingering moisture and instability lead to more tornadoes for Eastern Arkansas and Northern Mississippi through the evening. A few severe storms moved across the Mississippi river into northern Bolivar County around 9 pm, knocking down a swath of trees from Gunnison to Duncan. Just a few miles south, conditions over the ARKLAMISS were not as primed for development. Warm and moist conditions in the upper levels of the atmosphere had limited storm development for much of the region. However, shortly before 11 pm, the line of storms strengthened over Northeast Louisiana, Southeast Arkansas and West Central Mississippi. As the squall line moved through the region, power poles were snapped, trees were downed and large hail fell in many areas. The line continued its trek across Central Mississippi, producing a few tornadoes, hail and wind damage before exiting the state early Wednesday morning.

    A strong circulation developed on the radar and moved near Harrisonburg in Catahoula Parish. A funnel cloud was reported in the area and several trees were blown down. Another storm with strong circulation moved into the Jonesville area, knocking down trees and power poles. Between 1030 pm and 1130 pm, several funnel clouds were reported in Northeast Louisiana. A survey team was going to look at the damage Friday.

    Several bowing segments developed in the line as the storms moved into central Mississippi. Power lines and transformers were destroyed as winds ripped through the area. As a bowing segment moved through Yazoo County, a tornado formed about 10 miles southeast of Benton. The EF-0 tornado had a path length just short of 5 miles. In the Myrleville community, 2 grain bins were destroyed and a tractor trailer was blown on its side. The metal roof was peeled off of a home and several power poles were blown down.

    A supercell developed ahead of the line, near the Ross Barnett Reservoir and moved into Leake County. A tornado formed about 10 northwest of Carthage, near the Singleton community. The path length was about a mile, where several large trees were uprooted and smaller trees were snapped. This tornado was rated as an EF-1. The strong circulation remained persistent as it moved northeast across the area. The storm moved into Attala County, where it knocked down several trees and limbs southeast of Kosciusko. As it moved into Winston and Oktibbeha counties, several trees, limbs and power lines were downed, along with several reports of small hail.

    Two supercells with strong circulations moved through Noxubee County. The first circulation developed over northeastern Neshoba County. As the storm passed near the Preston area, several trees were downed along Highway 397 from southeastern Winston into Northwestern Noxubee County. The second circulation moved through southeast Noxubee County and produced an EF-0 tornado near Paulette. Several small trees were snapped and limbs blown down along the narrow 1 mile path.

    Nearly half of the Jackson Forecast office area received damage as the severe storms moved through the area Tuesday and Tuesday night. Twenty-three counties reported damage in the form of downed trees, power poles and large hail. Again, no injuries or fatalities have been reported in the Jackson Forecast Office county warning area.

Damage Reports

As more storm serveys are completed, we will update this page with the information.