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NOUS44 KJAN 030000
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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
600 PM CST THU MAR 2 2006

...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE REMEMBERING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
CANDLESTICK PARK TORNADO...

...OTHER VIOLENT TORNADOES IN MISSISSIPPI HISTORY...

WHILE IT WAS A LANDMARK TORNADO IN CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI DURING THE 
LAST HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY, THE CANDLESTICK PARK IS UNFORTUNATELY 
ONE OF A NUMBER OF INFAMOUS TORNADOES TO STRIKE THE STATE OF 
MISSISSIPPI IN RECORDED HISTORY.  WITHOUT QUESTION, THE MOST 
NOTORIOUS TORNADO IN MISSISSIPPI HISTORY IS THE NATCHEZ TORNADO OF 
MAY 7, 1840.  THIS TORNADO STARTED ACROSS THE RIVER IN CONCORDIA 
PARISH, LA, AND MOVED UP THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, KILLING HUNDREDS OF 
PEOPLE ON BOATS AND BARGES BEFORE KILLING SEVERAL DOZEN MORE IN 
NATCHEZ ITSELF.  AT LEAST 317 PEOPLE WERE KILLED BY THIS TORNADO, 
MAKING IT THE SECOND DEADLIEST TORNADO IN UNITED STATES HISTORY.

DURING THE 20TH CENTURY, THE MOST DEVASTATING MISSISSIPPI TORNADO 
WAS THE TUPELO TORNADO OF APRIL 5, 1936.  THIS TORNADO KILLED 216 
PEOPLE, MAKING IT THE FOURTH MOST DEADLY TORNADO IN UNITED STATES 
HISTORY.  OTHER THAN THE CANDLESTICK PARK TORNADO, THE ONLY OTHER F5 
TORNADO IN MISSISSIPPI WAS THE VICKSBURG TORNADO OF DECEMBER 5, 
1953.  THIS TORNADO KILLED 38 PEOPLE.

THREE OTHER DATES ARE PARTICULARLY INFAMOUS IN THE TORNADO HISTORY 
OF MISSISSIPPI.  THE MOST RECENT WAS FEBRUARY 21, 1971.  ON THIS 
DATE, AN OUTBREAK OF SEVERAL STRONG AND VIOLENT TORNADOES OCCURRED 
ACROSS THE ARKLAMISS REGION, WITH THREE SEPARATE VIOLENT (F4 OR F5) 
TORNADOES OCCURRING.  A TOTAL OF 117 PEOPLE WOULD BE KILLED BY THESE 
THREE TORNADOES; OVER 100 OF THESE FATALITIES WERE IN THE DELTA 
COUNTIES OF MISSISSIPPI.  MORE THAN 1200 PEOPLE WERE INJURED.

THE OTHER TWO OUTBREAK DATES OF NOTE WERE MUCH EARLIER IN THE 
CENTURY.  ON THE MORNING OF APRIL 20, 1920, THREE VIOLENT TORNADOES 
OCCURRED OVER EAST CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI AND WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA.  
MORE THAN 150 PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN THIS AREA.  NEARLY 100 WERE 
KILLED BY THE MOST DEVASTATING TORNADO, WHICH STARTED IN OKTIBBEHA 
COUNTY AND TRACKED NORTHEAST FOR WELL OVER 100 MILES INTO NORTHERN 
ALABAMA, FINALLY DISSIPATING IN LAWRENCE COUNTY.  ANOTHER 
DEVASTATING MORNING OCCURRED ON APRIL 24, 1908.  TWO VIOLENT 
TORNADOES, BOTH WITH MORE THAN 100 MILE PATH LENGTHS, KILLED MORE 
THAN 200 PEOPLE ACROSS SOUTH MISSISSIPPI AND EAST CENTRAL AND 
SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA.  MORE THAN 50 PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN PURVIS, 
WHICH WAS NEARLY TOTALLY DESTROYED BY THE TORNADO THAT RAGED THROUGH 
TOWN DURING THE LATE MORNING HOURS.

LUCKILY, MISSISSIPPI HAS FOR THE MOST PART BEEN SPARED IN RECENT 
YEARS THE DESTRUCTION OF VIOLENT TORNADOES MOVING THROUGH OUR CITIES 
AND COMMUNITIES.  THE MOST NOTABLE EXCEPTION TO THIS WAS THE LATE 
NIGHT AND EARLY MORNING HOURS OF NOVEMBER 21-22, 1992, WHEN A LONG 
TRACK, VIOLENT TORNADO MOVED ACROSS CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI KILLING 12 
PEOPLE, WITH MOST OF THE FATALITIES IN BRANDON.  OTHER THAN THAT 
TORNADO, OUR REGION HAS NOT SEEN A PARTICULARLY DEVASTATING, LONG 
TRACKED VIOLENT TORNADO IN MANY YEARS.   IN FACT, CENTRAL 
MISSISSIPPI HAS ONLY SEEN TWO VIOLENT TORNADOES SINCE 1992, BOTH 
OCCURRING ON NOVEMBER 24, 2001.

$$

WFO JAN