14– 121

lornajarrettblanchard February 21, 1971

— 121 NCEI. Storm Events Database. Search Results for all US States and Areas. Tornado, 2-21-1971
–11 Madison Parish LA 14:50 CST F5
— 9 Sharkey County MS 16:00 CST F5
–14 Sharkey County MS 16:05 CST F4
— 2 Humphreys Co. MS 16:15 CST F5
–25 Sunflower Co. MS 16:25 CST F5
–30 Humphreys Co. MS 16:35 CST F4
–14 Leflore County MS 16:55 CST F4
— 2 Warren County MS 17:06 CST F4
— 3 Sunflower Co. MS 17:30 CST F3
–11 Yazoo County MS 17:40 CST F4
— 121 National Weather Service, Milwaukee WI Weather Forecast Office. 2005.
— 119 Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. 1993, pp. 511, 1121.
— 117 Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). 1982, p. 224.
— 117 Sav 1974, p. 40
— 113 NOAA. Mississippi Delta Tornadoes of February 21, 1971. July 1971, p. 1.
–14 Cary, Sharkey County, MS. NOAA July 1971, p. 7.
— 8 Delta City, Sharkey County, MS. NOAA July 1971, p. 7.
–11 Gooden Lake, Humphreys Co., MS. NOAA July 1971, p. 7.
–19 Inverness, Sunflower County, MS. NOAA July 1971, p. 7.
— 9 Little Yazoo, Yazoo County, MS. NOAA July 1971, p. 7.
–22 Pugh City, Leflore County, MS. NOAA July 1971, p. 7.
–10 Delhi area, Madison Parish, LA NOAA July 1971, p. 7.
—<100 History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, Feb 21, 1971, “Tornadoes Move Across… -- 36 Issaquena, Sharkey, Washington, Sunflower, Leflore, Counties. (Grazulis 1993, 1121) -- 58 Issaquena, Sharkey, Humphreys, Leflore, Grenada, Tallahatchie, Yalobusha, Lafayette Counties (Grazulis 1993, 1121) -- 58 Pugh City. Ludlum. The American Weather Book, 1982, 107. -- 02 Sunflower County. (Grazulis 1993, 511.) -- 13 Warren, Yazoo, Holmes. (Grazulis 1993, 1121) Narrative Information NOAA Executive Summary: “At 11:45 a.m. CST Sunday, February 21, 1971, the Police Department of Cleveland, Miss., reported to the Jackson, Miss., National Weather Service Office that a tornado had been spotted southwest of Cleveland. Between the time of this first sighting and the time of lifting all Tornado Watches and Warnings just before midnight, more than 50 sightings of tornadoes and funnel clouds were reported to NOAA Weather Service Offices at Shreveport, La., Jackson, Miss., and Memphis, Tenn. – the stations directly responsible for tornado warnings for the areas affected by the Mississippi Delta Tornadoes. “Three great tornadoes of this outbreak of severe storms took by far the greatest toll of lives. The first had a continuous ground path 102 miles long. The second moved along a track parallel to the first storm for a distance of 159 miles on the ground. The third great tornado moved parallel to the other two and remained on the ground for 69 miles. These three tornadoes traveled a total distance of 330 miles, at speeds on the order of 55 m.p.h., making individual swaths of one-quarter to one-half mile across. A fourth tornado had a track of about 10 miles. There were other tornadoes of brief duration, but these four were the most significant. “Preliminary Civil Defense and Red Cross statistics indicate that in the three-State area affected by the tornadoes – Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee – 113 persons were killed, 2,003 persons were injured, and 611 homes were destroyed. Total property loss was estimated to be $19,000,000. “Many cities and towns in the path of these storms suffered major damage, and the communities of Delta City, Inverness, Cary, Pugh City, and Little Yazoo, Miss., were virtually leveled….” (NOAA. Mississippi Delta Tornadoes of February 21, 1971. July 1971, p. 1.) History.com: “On this day in 1971, the Mississippi River Delta is pounded by powerful tornadoes that kill more than 100 people. The storm that caused the twisters moved up from the bayous of Louisiana through Mississippi to Tennessee. Hundreds of people were injured across the three states. “One of the worst tornadoes that struck on February 21 was an F4 category twister--with winds of between 207 and 260 mph--that hit Madison Parish, Louisiana, at about 2:50 p.m. Forty-six people lost their lives as the tornado moved several miles northeast to the town of Waverly. The dead included 10 family members who lived near the community of Delhi. Witnesses reported that the twirling winds dumped many of the bodies into the bayou. “Just after the Madison Parish tornado struck, another hit East Carroll Parish. That one skipped right over the Mississippi River into Issaquena County. Another twister slammed down in Inverness, Mississippi, where 150 buildings were destroyed, 21 residents were killed and more than 200 people were injured. “Later that afternoon, multiple tornadoes crashed down across Mississippi. One F4 twister ran through Warren, Yazoo and Holmes counties, killing 13 people and injuring nearly 200 more. About 60 people across the state lost their lives. Several twisters also touched down in Tennessee, but none were deadly. The last reported tornado struck the town of Hurricane, Mississippi, where a school was destroyed in the powerful, whirling winds. “President Richard Nixon declared the affected region a disaster area and organizations such as the Red Cross quickly provided aid. Hospitals for hundreds of miles around pitched in to help treat the approximately 1,000 people who were injured.” (History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, Feb 21, 1971, “Tornadoes Move Across Mississippi River Delta.”) Sources Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1982. Grazulis, Thomas P. “Louisiana Tornadoes 1950-1995.” Accessed 10/12/2009 at: http://www.tornadoproject.com/alltorns/latorn.htm Grazulis, Thomas P. “Mississippi Tornadoes 1950-1995.” Accessed 10/12/2009 at: http://www.tornadoproject.com/alltorns/mstorn.htm Grazulis, Thomas P. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VE: Environmental Films, 1993, 1,326 pages. History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, February 21, 1971. “Tornadoes Move Across Mississippi River Delta.” Accessed 12/07/2008 at: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&displayDate=02/21&categoryId=disaster Ludlum, David M. The American Weather Book. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1982. National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Search Results for all U.S. States and Areas. Tornado, 2-21-1971. Accessed 5-7-2020 at: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/listevents.jsp?eventType=%28C%29+Tornado&beginDate_mm=02&beginDate_dd=21&beginDate_yyyy=1971&endDate_mm=02&endDate_dd=21&endDate_yyyy=1971&hailfilter=0.00&tornfilter=0&windfilter=000&sort=DT&submitbutton=Search&statefips=-999%2CALL National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. Mississippi Delta Tornadoes of February 21, 1971: A Report to the Administrator (Natural Disaster Survey Report 71-2). Rockville, MD: July 1971. Accessed 5-7-2020 at: https://www.weather.gov/media/publications/assessments/Mississippi%20Delta%20ornados%20February%201971.pdf National Weather Service. Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI Weather Forecast Office. Famous Large Tornado Outbreaks in the United States. NWS, NOAA, DOC. November 2, 2005 modification. Accessed at: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mkx/climate/torout.php Sav, Thomas G. Natural Disasters: Some Empirical and Economic Considerations (Final Report, NBSIR 74-473). Washington, DC: National Bureau of Standards, Institute for Applied Technology, Center for Building Technology, Building Economics Section, February 1974, 74 pages. Accessed 7-12-2017 at: http://www.fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/build74/PDF/b74006.pdf