What the record says
On 21 April 1984, a tornado touched down near Walthall, Mississippi. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 71 miles long and up to 10 yards wide, rated F3 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 15 people and injured 76.
- F3Fujita rating
- 15deaths
- 76injuries
- 71 mipath length
- 10 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it killed three or more people and it was rated 3 and killed at least one person.
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
- Calhoun County, Mississippi
- Lafayette County, Mississippi
- Leflore County, Mississippi
- Pontotoc County, Mississippi
- Tallahatchie County, Mississippi
- Union County, Mississippi
- Webster County, Mississippi
- Yalobusha County, Mississippi
The start point was at 33.63, -89.40 and the end point at 34.55, -88.95 (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
- 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
Other notable tornadoes of 1984
- Greenville, North Carolina tornado28 March 1984, F4, 16 deaths, 153 injuries, 28 miles long
- St. Pauls, North Carolina tornado28 March 1984, F3, 12 deaths, 101 injuries, 40 miles long
- Ridgeway, Wisconsin tornado7 June 1984, F5, 9 deaths, 200 injuries, 36 miles long
- Henryetta, Oklahoma tornado26 April 1984, F3, 8 deaths, 95 injuries, 22 miles long
- Laurinburg, North Carolina tornado28 March 1984, F4, 7 deaths, 100 injuries, 17 miles long
All tornadoes of 1984 · Mississippi tornado history · All notable tornadoes