PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
620 PM CDT MON APR 26 2010
..UPDATED INFORMATION ON LONG TRACK TORNADO PATH
NWS STORM SURVEY TEAMS FROM JACKSON AND MEMPHIS HAVE NOW
COMPLETED PRELIMINARY GROUND SURVEYS ALONG THE ENTIRE PATH
OF THE PRIMARY SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORM THAT TRACKED FROM
WEST OF TALLULAH, LOUISIANA…TO YAZOO CITY…TO NORTHEAST
OF WEST POINT…ON SATURDAY APRIL 26.
THE PRELMINARY CONCLUSION BASED ON THE GROUND SURVEYS IS
THAT A SINGLE…CONTINUOUS PATH OF TORNADIC DAMAGE WAS
PRODUCED FROM WEST OF TALLULAH TO THE EXTREME WESTERN PART
OF OKTIBBEHA COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI. THE TORNADO
APPEARED TO DISSIPATE AT THIS POINT…BUT THE STORM PRODUCED
TWO ADDITIONAL TORNADOES IN THE NWS JACKSON SERVICE AREA…
AN EF-1 IN NORTHERN OKTIBBEHA COUNTY…AND AN EF-2 IN
NORTHEAST CLAY COUNTY. INFORMATION REGARDING THESE TORNADOES
HAS BEEN PROVIDED IN EARLIER STATEMENTS.
THE MAIN LONG TRACK TORNADO WAS STRONG ALMOST FROM ITS INITIAL
STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT IN NORTHEAST LOUISIANA. EF-2 AND
EF-3 DAMAGE WAS COMMON ALL ALONG THE TORNADO’S PATH INTO
CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI…WITH TWO AREAS OF EF-4 DAMAGE IN YAZOO
AND HOLMES COUNTIES. AFTER CROSSING INTERSTATE 55…THE TORNADO
WEAKENED…WITH EF-1 AND OCCASIONAL EF-2 DAMAGE BEING COMMON
AS THE TORNADO MOVED ACROSS ATTALA COUNTY. THE TORNADO REINTENSIFIED
AS IT MOVED INTO CHOCTAW COUNTY…WITH AT LEAST HIGH END EF-3 DAMAGE
OCCURRING NORTHWEST OF THE WEIR COMMUNITY. THE TORNADO REMAINED
STRONG BEFORE RAPIDLY WEAKENING AND THEN DISSIPATING JUST AFTER
MOVING INTO OKTIBBEHA COUNTY.
HERE IS A PRELIMINARY SUMMARY OF THIS TORNADO:
BEGINNING POINT: 5 MILES W OF TALLULAH, LA 32.408N, 91.283W
AT 11:06 AM
ENDING POINT: 5.5 MILES N OF STURGIS, MS 33.430N, 89.054W
AT 1:52 PM
PATH LENGTH: 149 MILES
MAXIMUM WIDTH: 1.75 MILES
RATING: EF-4, WITH MAXIMUM WINDS OF 170 MPH
CASUALTIES: 10 TOTAL FATALITIES WITH DOZENS OF INJURIES
IT MUST BE STRESSED THAT ALL OF THIS INFORMATION IS PRELIMINARY
AND SUBJECT TO LATER ADJUSTMENT. A TORNADO OF THIS STRENGTH AND
MAGNITUDE REQUIRES A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF DAMAGE SURVEYS AND DATA
ANALYSIS. AN ANALYSIS OF AERIAL SURVEY INFORMATION COULD STILL
RESULT IN THE TORNADO BEING BROKEN UP INTO MORE THAN ONE PATH.
THE NWS WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE UPDATES AS ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION IS OBTAINED…AND IS PLANNING TO HOLD A MEDIA BRIEFING
LATER THIS WEEK TO PROVIDE A FULL ANALYSIS OF THE STORM AND THE
DAMAGE SURVEY RESULTS. ALSO…A WEBPAGE CONCERNING THIS WEATHER
EVENT…INCLUDING DAMAGE PICTURES AND MAPS…WILL BE UPDATED AT
WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/JAN.
THE NWS WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OF OUR PARTNERS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FOR THEIR INVALUABLE ASSISTANCE IN
PERFORMING OUR DAMAGE SURVEYS.