1971 Mississippi Delta tornado outbreak
From Sunday to Monday, February 21–22, 1971, a devastating tornado outbreak, colloquially known as the Mississippi Delta outbreak, struck portions of the Lower Mississippi and Ohio River valleys in the Southern and Midwestern United States. The outbreak generated strong tornadoes from Texas to Ohio and North Carolina. The two-day severe weather episode produced at least 25 tornadoes, and probably several more, mostly brief events in rural areas; killed 123 people across three states; and wrecked entire communities in Mississippi. The strongest tornado of the outbreak was an F5 that developed in Louisiana and crossed into Mississippi, killing 48 people, while the deadliest was an F4 that tracked across Mississippi and entered Tennessee, causing 57 fatalities in the former state. The former remains the only F5 on record in Louisiana, while the latter is the deadliest on record in Mississippi since 1950. A deadly F4 also affected other parts of Mississippi, causing 13 more deaths. Other deadly tornadoes included a pair of F3s—one each in Mississippi and North Carolina, respectively—that collectively killed five people.
Background
At 12:00 UTC on February 21, 1971, surface weather analysis failed to indicate either a well-developed low-pressure area or a defined frontal boundary over the Gulf Coastal Plain, signs that would normally presage a severe weather outbreak. At the time, a diffuse warm front extended eastward from East Texas to portions of Mississippi, and a cold front extended southward over East Texas. Higher up in the atmosphere, conditions were "close to ideal" for a significant tornado outbreak: a broad trough imparted substantial divergence over the prefrontal warm sector.Impact
Activity started early on the morning of February 21. The first tornadoes touched down in Texas east of Austin and north of Waco. The main activity intensified during the afternoon over the Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys until the late evening hours. At 15:55 UTC the National Severe Storms Forecast Center in Kansas City, Missouri, issued a tornado watch for eastern Arkansas, northern Mississippi, and adjoining portions of Tennessee and Alabama. A subsequent watch covered portions of eastern Louisiana and southwestern Mississippi, more than an hour before the first major tornado developed.Three violent, long-lived tornadoes—two of which may have been tornado families—in western Mississippi and northeastern Louisiana caused most of the deaths along of path. The first of the three long-lived violent tornadoes was an F5 that touched down in Louisiana and traveled continuously for, followed by an F4 in Mississippi that produced continuous damage for. A third, F4 tornado traveled through Little Yazoo, Mississippi, and near Lexington. The three violent tornadoes moved at up to, and eyewitnesses reported more than 50 tornadoes or funnel clouds in the Mississippi Delta region alone, many of which were sightings of the same tornado. At one point, the National Weather Service WSR-57, a type of weather radar, in Jackson, Mississippi, reported four simultaneous hook echoes that indicated tornado-producing supercells.
Although authorities issued timely tornado warnings—with an average lead time of about an hour in the worst-hit areas—few homes in the area were well constructed, and many lacked basements or other safe areas, thus contributing to the large number of deaths. Many residents were reportedly aware of the danger but could not find shelter in time. As a result, the violent tornadoes killed entire families and caused as many as 21 deaths in some communities. Many of the dead were blacks who resided in frail structures. The entire outbreak may have killed 113–119 people and injured as many as 2,003 others. In Mississippi alone, tornadoes officially killed 110 people and injured 1,469; of these, 454 persons were hospitalized. Some sources listed 107 deaths and 1,060–1,514 injuries in Mississippi. Losses in the three states of Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana totaled $19 million.
Confirmed tornadoes
The actual total was likely considerably higher, especially over rural areas.- On February 21, between 15:25–15:35 UTC, a funnel cloud and possible tornado may have occurred during a severe thunderstorm at Athens, Henderson County, Texas. One resident reported a "roaring" noise like that of many freight trains, but a tornado was not believed to have developed.
| Color / symbol | Description |
| † | Data from Grazulis 1990/1993/2001b |
| ¶ | Data from a local National Weather Service office |
| § | Data from the NOAA Natural Disaster Survey Report |
| # | Data from Tornado Talk reanalysis |
| ※ | Data from the 1971 Storm Data publication |
| ♭ | Data from the 1971 Climatological Data publication |
| ‡ | Data from the NCEI database |
| ♯ | Maximum width of tornado |
| ± | Tornado was rated below F2 intensity by Grazulis but a specific rating is unavailable. |
Delhi, Louisiana/Inverness, Mississippi
This devastating, long-lived tornado was of F5 intensity in Louisiana and F4 in Mississippi. It first appeared aloft northwest of Crowville, Louisiana, at 2:50 p.m. CST before finally touching down south-southeast of Delhi. Shortly after developing, the tornado moved northeastward at an average speed of, striking the small community of Waverly. Along and northeast of U.S. Route 80, the tornado completely leveled a number of small homes at F5 intensity, though these may not have been well constructed. About east of Delhi, on a farmstead at Joes Bayou, it killed 10 people in a family of 12, five of whose bodies were thrown into nearby swamps and not located for weeks. It also destroyed a rural church, three nearby homes, and half a dozen large, overhead power lines, while downing trees. Afterward it mostly hit woods and farms for the rest of its trek in Louisiana, continuing northeastward. It struck the Melbourne settlement on Pecan Road, a short distance south of Transylvania, near Alsatia. At Melbourne the tornado destroyed a pair of mobile homes and seven homes. 13 other mobile homes, 11 outbuildings, and a mature pecan grove were severely damaged as well. Vehicles and agricultural implements were tossed about, but only minor injuries occurred. In all, the tornado killed 11 people and injured 18 others in Louisiana, though some sources do not list the eleventh fatality. After striking Melbourne, the tornado crossed the Mississippi River and entered Mississippi.Once in Mississippi, the tornado passed near Mayersville in Issaquena County. As it did so, it began to slowly weaken in intensity, but restrengthened in Sharkey County and retained force hereafter. It killed two people near Cameta and destroyed a cotton gin near Nitta Yuma. It then devastated Delta City, killing eight people and destroying the entire community. At Delta City it destroyed 31 houses and most businesses, some of which it swept away. Continuing northeastward, it leveled farms and claimed four additional lives, including a few at Mound Lake Plantation, west of Isola. Afterward, it entered the town of Inverness as a large tornado, destroying an estimated 80–90% of the community, killing 21 people, and injuring 200 more. In town the tornado destroyed 125–153 homes, along with 40 other structures. 52 homes were badly damaged as well, 61 businesses were destroyed or damaged, and 30 outbuildings were destroyed on farms. The tornado destroyed the entire central business district, city hall, an elementary school, and the three largest churches. According to media, it also "obliterated" blocks of frail homes in the southwestern section of town, most of whose denizens were African Americans. Hundreds of people were left homeless, and railcars were tipped onto their sides. The tornado then leveled the northwestern side of Moorhead, killing four people there before ending near Schlater. In all, the tornado destroyed hundreds of homes along its path.
It is the only official F5/EF5 to have hit Louisiana since records began in 1950, the only F5/EF5 tornado to occur in the month of February, and the deadliest F5 tornado since March 3, 1966, though this was later eclipsed by an EF5 tornado on April 27, 2011, that killed 72 people. In 1984 and 1993 tornado researcher Grazulis rated it F4, but in 2001 accepted the official F5 rating; he also listed it as a tornado family, but a later study of aerial imagery revealed a continuous path. Estimates of the path length vary from. Grazulis also found 400 injuries, while the NCEI tallied 510.
Cary–Pugh City, Mississippi
This, the deadliest and longest-lived of the three violent tornadoes, was likely a tornado family. It first touched down just east-northeast of Fitler, approximately southwest of Cary, and moved northeastward. Just south of Cary, the tornado destroyed the Evanna Plantation, killing 14 people there, hurling vehicles several hundred yards, scouring earth, and debarking trees. The tornado then struck southern Cary, leveling Bellgrade Quarter—a predominantly working-class, African-American neighborhood—and killing 13. Continuing to the northeast, the tornado struck Gooden Lake, killing seven people and wrecking 12 homes there. Near Belzoni it hit the Castleman community, leveling a manor there, and destroyed a few dwellings in northeastern Humphreys County. According to reports, the tornado then destroyed the Joe Regh Plantation at Pugh City, reducing frail, low-income, frame housing to "splinters", rolling farm machinery, and killing at least 21—and possibly up to 26—people; extensive wind-rowing occurred as well. The tornado left most of the 50 homes and several stores at Pugh City irreparable.It then brushed southeastern Swiftown, destroying three homes, damaging other buildings, and killing two more people. Between Swiftown and Morgan City the tornado followed MS 7, tearing apart 35 dwellings. It then hit northwestern Morgan City, destroying about 12 homes and killing three people. Just west of Greenwood, near Fort Loring, it tossed a vehicle off U.S. 82, killing its two occupants. Four more deaths occurred near Money. The tornado may have weakened and reformed into a separate event that passed through or near Avalon, Oxberry, Cascilla, and Tillatoba, causing scattered damage in those communities. Isolated stands of mature trees and willows were twisted, splintered, or prostrated, and outbuildings on farms were damaged. Bits of roofing, insulation, and wallpaper were torn off in Tillatoba. This and the previous tornado closely paralleled each other, affecting several of the same counties. The tornado is the deadliest in Mississippi since 1950; however, the deadliest Mississippi tornado on record in the 20th century killed 216 people in 1936. Official data and Grazulis tabulated 58 deaths, but one of these was from the Inverness F5.