On This Day in 1971: The Devastating Mississippi Delta Tornado Outbreak
Fifty-three years ago today, a devastating tornado outbreak struck portions of the Lower Mississippi River Valley and the Southeastern United States on February 21st to 22nd, 1971.
There was a highly amplified pattern present across the U.S. with a trough of low pressure moving eastard toward the Lower Mississippi Valley. By early afternoon, sunshine had propelled surface temperatures to near 80 degrees across the Mississippi Delta. Instabilities were extremely high and favorable wind shear aloft led to an explosive severe weather setup.
Just prior to 3 p.m. CST, an F5 tornado developed near Delhi, La. It blasted northeast, moving across the Mississippi River and into Mississippi. It was on the ground for 102 miles, killing 11 people in Louisiana and 36 in Mississippi. The town of Inverness was completely destroyed where twenty-one people died.
Around 4 p.m., a family of tornadoes initiated in Issaquena County, Miss. These storms would cause damage along a 159-mile path to north of Oxford. F4 damage was found along a majority of its path. The town of Cary was destroyed where 11 people died. A total of 58 fatalities were reported with these tornadoes.
The final long-lived violent tornado of the outbreak cut a 69-mile path of destruction through Warren, Yazoo, and Holmes County in Mississippi. Thirteen people died in the F4 tornado.
The two-day tornado outbreak produced at least 19 tornadoes, primarily in rural areas, and killed 123 people across Louisiana, Mississippi, and North Carolina.
In Mississippi, the tornadoes killed 107 people, injured 1,060, and hospitalized 454 others. After the storms, the Mississippi Civil Defense Council estimated 17 million dollars in property damage.
Tornado surveys found the three major tornadoes contributed to over 300 miles of tornado track, varying in width from 1/4 miles to more than 1/2 mile. The three significant tornadoes traveled at speeds of 50 to 60 mph.
The entire outbreak is the second deadliest ever in February, behind only the Enigma tornado outbreak in 1884 and ahead of the 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak. February 21 was the fourth-deadliest day for tornadoes in Mississippi on record.
Sources: NOAA, weather.gov, wikipedia
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Story Image: Tornado damage in Inverness, Mississippi in February 1971. (NOAA Natural Disaster Survey Report).