Rare August Tornado strikes Jackson Metro

Jackson, MISS. (WCBI) – A rare August tornado touched down in the Jackson Metro on Friday Evening after 5PM.

The tornado was rated an EF1 and tore through the northern suburbs of Madison and Ridgeland between I-55 and the Natchez Trace.

Damage occurred to numerous homes in the Sandalwood Subdivision.  Numerous homes had roof damage and many trees were flattened.  At the Madison Airport, the tornado passed within yards of an official weather station.  A wind gust of 97 mph was recorded as it moved by.

August tornadoes are quite rare for Mississippi.  Most tornadoes that touch down in August in Mississippi and Alabama are the result of tropical systems passing through the area, similar to last years Reform tornado on August 30th.

But this tornado was the result of several outflow boundaries merging, causing ideal local conditions for a tornado to form.  In fact, since 1985 this is only the 4th non-tropical tornado the National Weather Service in Jackson has surveyed.

See the full details of the NWS Jackson Survey below.

...NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR MADISON COUNTY TORNADO ON AUGUST 17 2018...

.MADISON COUNTY TORNADO...

RATING:                 EF1
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND:    105 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/:  1.40 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/:   250 YARDS
FATALITIES:             0
INJURIES:               0

START DATE:             8/17/2018
START TIME:             5:14 PM CDT
START LOCATION:         1 S MADISON / MADISON COUNTY / MS
START LAT/LON:          32.4373 / -90.1098

END DATE:               8/17/2018
END TIME:               5:18 PM CDT
END LOCATION:           2 ESE MADISON / MADISON COUNTY / MS
END LAT/LON:            32.4419 / -90.0866

SUMMARY: 
THE TORNADO BEGAN IN A SMALL WOODED AREA BEHIND SAINT 
MATTHEW'S CHURCH ON OLD CANTON RD WHERE A FEW LARGE LIMBS WERE 
BROKEN OFF. PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT AT THE CHURCH ALSO SUSTAINED 
CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE. A FEW BRADFORD PEAR TREES WERE ALSO SNAPPED AT 
THE ENTRANCE TO THE CHURCH. THE TORNADO THEN CROSSED OLD CANTON RD 
AND ONTO BRUCE CAMPBELL FIELD. HERE, TWO HANGERS AND A BUILDING 
SUSTAINED DAMAGE. A BRICK FACADE COLLAPSED ON THE EXTERIOR OF ONE 
HANGER AND THE OTHER SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE TO THE SHEET METAL 
ROOFING AND THE HANGER DOORS WERE BLOWN OFF THEIR TRACKS. TWO METAL 
SUPPORT BEAMS IN THE CEILING WERE ALSO BENT. THE TORNADO PASSED JUST 
A FEW YARDS TO THE RIGHT OF THE AIRPORT'S AWOS WHICH RECORDED A 
97MPH WIND GUST. THE TORNADO CONTINUED ON AN ENE TRACK PASSING 
THROUGH ANOTHER WOODED AREA STRENGTHENING BEFORE ENTERING THE 
SANDALWOODS SUBDIVISON. NUMEROUS TREES WERE UPROOTED AND SNAPPED IN 
THIS WOODED AREA. THE TORNADO REACHED PEAK INTENSITY AS IT CROSSED 
PEACHTREE LN, REDBUDLN, AND WINTERGREEN RD. HERE, NUMEROUS TREES 
WERE SNAPPED AND UPROOTED AND MULTIPLE HOMES SUSTAINED STRUCTURAL 
DAMAGE FROM FALLING TREES. A FEW HOMES ALSO SUSTAINED MINOR ROOF 
DAMAGE UNASSOCIATED WITH THE TREES. THE TREE DAMAGE IN SANDALWOODS 
WAS CONSISTENT WITH 95-105 MPH WINDS. THE TORNADO BEGAN TO QUICKLY 
WEAKEN AS IT CROSSED RICE RD WHERE A FEW LARGE LIMBS WERE SNAPPED 
FROM TREES. THE TORNADO DISSIPATED IN A SMALL WOODED AREA EAST OF 
RICE RD AND NORTH OF VILLAGE DR.