What the record says
On 3 March 1966, a tornado touched down near Learned, Mississippi. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 202.5 miles long and up to 900 yards wide, rated F5 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 58 people and injured 518. That makes it the 8th deadliest tornado in the record, which runs from 1950.
- F5Fujita rating
- 58deaths
- 518injuries
- 202.5 mipath length
- 900 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 4 or 5 and it killed three or more people.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
- Pickens County, Alabama
- Tuscaloosa County, Alabama
- Hinds County, Mississippi
- Kemper County, Mississippi
- Leake County, Mississippi
- Neshoba County, Mississippi
- Noxubee County, Mississippi
- Rankin County, Mississippi
- Scott County, Mississippi
The start point was at 32.18, -90.55 and the end point at 33.37, -87.42 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in Mississippi
- Cary, Mississippi tornado21 February 1971, F4, 58 deaths, 795 injuries, 202.1 miles long
- Delhi, Louisiana tornado21 February 1971, F5, 47 deaths, 510 injuries, 109.2 miles long
- Vicksburg, Mississippi tornado5 December 1953, F5, 38 deaths, 270 injuries, 9 miles long
- Fayette, Mississippi tornado23 January 1969, F4, 32 deaths, 241 injuries, 117.8 miles long
- Smithville, Mississippi tornado27 April 2011, EF5, 23 deaths, 137 injuries, 37.3 miles long
- Mayersville, Mississippi tornado24 March 2023, EF4, 17 deaths, 165 injuries, 59.2 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1966
- Topeka, Kansas tornado8 June 1966, F5, 16 deaths, 450 injuries, 21.1 miles long
- Clearwater, Florida tornado4 April 1966, F4, 11 deaths, 530 injuries, 135.8 miles long
- Belmond, Iowa tornado14 October 1966, F5, 6 deaths, 172 injuries, 9.7 miles long
- Venturia, North Dakota tornado31 July 1966, F3, 2 deaths, 4 injuries, 26.4 miles long
- Leavenworth, Kansas tornado8 June 1966, F4, 1 death, 2 injuries, 19.9 miles long
All tornadoes of 1966 · Mississippi tornado history · All notable tornadoes