The February 1971 Mississippi Deltatornado outbreak struck portions of the Lower Mississippi River Valley and the Southeastern United States on February 21–22. The two-day tornado outbreak produced at least 19 tornadoes, and probably several more, mostly brief events in rural areas; killed 123 people across three states; and "virtually leveled" entire communities in the state of Mississippi. 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. One of the tornadoes attained F5 intensity in Louisiana, the only such event on record in the state, although the rating is disputed. The outbreak also generated strong tornadoes from Texas to Ohio and North Carolina. 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. At one point, the National Weather ServiceWSR-57radar in Jackson, Mississippi, reported four hook echoes, often indicative of tornado-producing supercells, simultaneously.
Meteorological history
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. The first of the three long-lived violent tornadoes was an F5 tornado that touched down in Louisiana and traveled continuously for, followed by an F4 tornado in Mississippi that produced continuous damage for and continued into Tennessee. 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. Although authorities issued timely warnings—with average lead times of 50 minutes 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 living in frail structures. In Mississippi alone, tornadoes officially killed 110 people and injured 1,469 ; of these, 454 persons were hospitalized.
This devastating, long-lived tornado—of F5 intensity in Louisiana, F4 in Mississippi—first appeared aloft northwest of Crowville, Louisiana—about southwest of Delhi—before touching down over eastern Madison Parish southwest of Delhi. The tornado then moved northeast through the small community of Waverly, about east of Delhi, where it was first reported operationally. In this area, along and northeast of U.S. Route 80, the tornado completely leveled many small homes at F5 intensity, killing 10 people in a family of 12 on a farmstead near Joes Bayou, five of whose bodies were thrown into nearby swamps and were not located for weeks. The tornado continued northeast, destroying seven homes and two trailers in the mostly-rural town of Alsatia/Melbourne, south of Transylvania, before crossing the Mississippi River into Mississippi. The tornado passed near Mayersville, gradually weakening until entering northern Sharkey County, where it may have reformed into a new, F4 tornado before hitting Delta City, destroying the entire community and killing seven people. The tornado continued northeast, killing two people near Cameta and two more west of Isola. Afterward, it entered the town of Inverness as a large tornado, destroying 125 homes and 40 other structures—80–90% of the community—killing 21 people, and injuring 200 more. The tornado destroyed the entire central business district, city hall, the three largest churches in town, and entire blocks of frail homes in the black section of town; many of these homes were "obliterated." Hundreds of people were left homeless, and railroad cars were tipped onto their sides. The tornado then leveled the northwest side of Moorehead, killing four people there before dissipating. In all, the tornado destroyed hundreds of homes along its path. It is the only official F5/EF5 to have hit the state of Louisiana since official tornado records began in 1950 and the only F5/EF5 tornado ever recorded in the month of February, although the F5 rating is disputed as many of the houses were small and frail. Until an EF5 tornado on April 27, 2011, killed 72 people, it was also the deadliest F5 tornado since the Candlestick Park tornado in 1966 killed 58 people across Mississippi and Alabama.
The deadliest and longest-lived of the three long-tracked violent tornadoes was likely a tornado family. It first touched down jusr southeast of Fitler and moved northeast into Cary, destroying the entire community. Just south of Cary, the tornado destroyed the Evanna plantation, killing 14 people in the area. Continuing to the northeast, the tornado crossed Gooden Lake as a waterspout, killing seven people there and two more nearby at "Mound Lake Plantation." The tornado then passed through and completely destroyed the "Pugh City" plantation, reducing frail, low-income housing to "splinters," rolling farm machinery, and killing at least 21 people. Extensive wind-rowing occurred as frame homes were completely swept away. The tornado killed two more people in Swiftown, six in Morgan City, two west of Greenwood, and four near Money. The tornado may have weakened and reformed into a new tornado, wide, that passed in or near Avalon, Oxberry, Cascilla, and Tillatoba, causing scattered damage in those communities. This tornado then lifted and reformed into one or more tornadoes west of Oxford, destroying more than 31 mobile homes in trailer parks, passing near the University of Mississippi campus, and producing a path at least long into the Holly Springs National Forest. Areas in and near Oxford reported $500,000 in damage, the worst natural disaster in local history. Yet another or more tornadoes may have caused damage from Benton County into Tennessee, where F3 damage occurred southwest of Middleton; there, three homes were damaged and one was destroyed with $40,000 in damage. The tornado dissipated shortly thereafter. It's path was just a few miles east of the areas affected by the F5 tornado for most of its path, and several counties were affected by both tornadoes. With 58 fatalities, 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.
The final long-lived violent tornado of the outbreak touched down south-southwest of Bovina, where it was seen approaching away. The tornado destroyed barns and homes, including a guest house, as well as hundreds of trees. One home was completely leveled, with only concrete blocks remaining on its foundation, and two people died of injuries. Next, the tornado passed through and destroyed Little Yazoo, where many homes and other buildings were leveled and swept away. Near Little Yazoo and Bentonia, the tornado leveled a dozen more homes, killing 11 people. In Holmes County, the tornado extensively damaged homes, barns, chicken coops, and sheds before dissipating. In all, the tornado leveled many homes along the path and injured 182 people.
