The April 12, 2020 tornado
EF4Walthall, Lawrence, Marion and Jefferson Davis counties, Mississippi
An EF4 tornado on a 22.1-mile path that killed 4 and injured 3. It was one of 73 tornadoes recorded in the U.S. that day, 6 of them rated F3/EF3 or stronger.
Watch how it happened Part of the outbreak of April 12, 2020: 73 tornadoes in 6 statesEF4 tornado · April 12, 2020
How it happened
Follow the tornado’s path, minute by minute.
The tornado
- Rating
- EF4
- Enhanced Fujita scale
- Path length
- 22.1 mi
- Width up to 1,936 yards
- Killed
- 4
- Along the whole path
- Injured
- 3
- Along the whole path
- Date and time
- Sunday, April 12, 2020
- 2:38 PM CST
The National Weather Service account
Written by the local Weather Service office after its damage survey.
The tornado touched down near Jefferson Rd just east of the intersection with|Jack Foil Rd. It quickly strengthened as it moved northeastward through the Hope area where it produced damage consistent with 115 mph winds. It also quickly grew in width and was roughly 1200 yd/0.67 mi wide by the time it approached Hwy 27. As it crossed Hwy 27 it continued to cause significant damage along East Sartinville Rd. The tornado was strongest as it approached James Ratcliff Rd. Two homes on this road were leveled, one being reduced to a slab. Consultation with subject matter experts including both engineers and experts in forensic tornado damage analysis supports raising the maximum intensity to 170 mph based on the house that was reduced to a slab and a large hard wood tree that was uprooted and tossed several feet from where it stood. The increased wind speed makes the tornado an EF-4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale. The other home that was leveled suffered damage consistent with a high end EF-3. While all walls were collapsed, there was no evidence of bolts that would have held the sill plates to the foundation. Thus, the wind speed for this particular damage is reduced slightly from the expected. The tornado was also widest in this area, reaching a maximum width of around 1300 yards or approximately 0.75 miles. As it continued to move northeastward, it continued snapping every tree near the center of its path. It also caused substantial damage to several small cinder block buildings, tore the roof off of a home and rolled a tied down single-wide manufactured home as it crossed East Sartinville Rd. From there it continued northeastward and tore the entire roof from a brick home just before moving into Lawrence County. It should be noted that from just southwest of James Ratcliff Rd through the remainder of the Walthall Co portion of the track, nearly every tree in the path of the tornado was snapped or uprooted. The tornado was responsible for two fatalities in Walthall County.
The storm system that day
On April 12th 2020, a very potent storm system delivered widespread severe weather across the southeast, as a strong cold front met unstable, moist Gulf air causing severe storms across Mississippi.
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
Counties on its path
Other notable tornadoes that day
- EF4, Jefferson Davis County7 killed
- EF2, Murray County8 killed
Storm Prediction Center severe weather database. Path drawn as a straight line from the recorded start to end point.