Smithville Tornado in Monroe County, Mississippi Confirmed EF5

[Viva_La_Revolution]

Source: LA Times

The Smithville – Monroe County, Mississippi – tornado Thursday was an EF5 status, confirms the National Weather Service in news statement today. The Monroe County tornado made history by becoming the state’s first EF-5 tornado since 1996. The NWS in a news briefing today said that its initial determination was based upon tornado photos examined Thursday.

The tornado struck Monroe and specifically Smithville on Thursday registering 344 mph. At its peak, the tornado was producing winds estimated at nearly 205 mph confirms the news statement Friday. The tornado was roughly three miles in length and half mile in width.



Read more: http://news.lalate.com/2011/04/29/smithville-tornado-in-monroe-county-mississippi-confirmed-ef5/

[AC_Mem]

1. Wow

ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 205 MPH

* PATH LENGTH: 2.82 MILES

* MAXIMUM WIDTH: 1/2 MILE

* FATALITIES: 14

* INJURIES: 40

* SUMMARY OF DAMAGES: 18 HOMES DESTROYED...2 BUSINESSES /POST
OFFICE AND POLICE STATION/ DESTROYED...8 HOMES WITH MAJOR
DAMAGE...7 BUSINESSES WITH MAJOR DAMAGE...44 HOMES WITH MINOR
DAMAGE...AND WATER SYSTEM DESTROYED. MOST TREES EITHER SNAPPED
OR TWISTED AND DEBARKED. MOST THE HOMES DESTROYED WERE WELL
BUILT...TWO STORIES...LESS THAN TEN YEARS OLD AND BOLTED DOWN TO
THEIR FOUNDATIONS. AN 1965 CHEVY PICKUP TRUCK PARKED IN FRONT
ONE OF THE DESTROYED HOMES HAS NOT BEEN FOUND. ALL APPLIANCES
AND PLUMBING FIXTURES IN THE MOST EXTREME DAMAGE PATH SHREDDED
OR MISSING.

[SkyDaddy7]

2. YES! WOW!!

Thanks for the details!!

[AtheistCrusader]

5. Takes a big-assed tornado to strip away the metal plumbing too.

[BadgerKid]

3. Incredible.

I think many are waiting for the analysis of the tornado that gained notoriety in Tuscaloosa. It's at least a tri-state tornado, possibly a quad-state.

[jtuck004]

4. Just btw, the F scale used for Tornadoes doesn't measure by

wind speed, etc. It is measured by the amount of damage left in the tornado's wake. So when you see F-5, there will almost always be casualties and lots of severe damage.

We had one go through Moore, OK a few years back. It was on the ground through several cities, but in Moore it scooped a half-mile wide path through housing additions. People normally hide in bathrooms (the plumbing makes it the most secure room) but it took down most everything, scooped dirt up in huge quantities. My sister and her hubby, dogs, and one kid hid in the bathroom. The storm tore the brick public school across the street apart, tossed one of the metal beams into their living room, along with a car from a neighbor. Hundreds of houses were destroyed, I think about 40 casualties, and they both had concussions from the house collapsing on them, killed one of the dogs that was next to them. Their clothes were so slammed with dirt that it wouldn't wash out, they had to throw them away. It scooped up whole lawns and got rid of them.

A few miles before it hit their home it mowed through another housing addition, right across the street from a huge trailer park which was left relatively untouched.

The low casualty count was attributed to the excellent tornado warning system and the fact that it hit in mid-afternoon so most everyone could take cover. I lived in that state for most of 40 years, and only saw perhaps 2 F-5 tornadoes out of the couple hundred we saw or experienced. Always a tragedy.