What the record says
On 21 February 1971, a tornado touched down near Cary, Mississippi. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 202.1 miles long and up to 100 yards wide, rated F4 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 58 people and injured 795. That makes it the 8th deadliest tornado in the record, which runs from 1950.
- F4Fujita rating
- 58deaths
- 795injuries
- 202.1 mipath length
- 100 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
- Benton County, Mississippi
- Grenada County, Mississippi
- Humphreys County, Mississippi
- Issaquena County, Mississippi
- Lafayette County, Mississippi
- Leflore County, Mississippi
- Marshall County, Mississippi
- Sharkey County, Mississippi
- Sunflower County, Mississippi
- Tallahatchie County, Mississippi
- Tippah County, Mississippi
- Yalobusha County, Mississippi
- Hardeman County, Tennessee
The start point was at 32.70, -91.02 and the end point at 35.03, -88.92 (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
- Learned, Mississippi tornado3 March 1966, F5, 58 deaths, 518 injuries, 202.5 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 1971
- Delhi, Louisiana tornado21 February 1971, F5, 47 deaths, 510 injuries, 109.2 miles long
- Edwards, Mississippi tornado21 February 1971, F4, 13 deaths, 182 injuries, 65.2 miles long
- Duck Hill, Mississippi tornado4 February 1971, F2, 7 deaths, 6.1 miles long
- Greensburg, Kentucky tornado27 April 1971, F4, 6 deaths, 58 injuries, 14.1 miles long
- Bradford, Tennessee tornado7 May 1971, F4, 3 deaths, 137 injuries, 50.9 miles long
All tornadoes of 1971 · Mississippi tornado history · All notable tornadoes