 Aerial of Inverness, MS after the tornado. | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | Feb 21, 1971, 3:08 p.m. CDT (UTC−05:00) |
| Dissipated | Feb 21, 1971, 5:10 pm. CDT (UTC−05:00) |
| Duration | 1 hour, 25 minutes |
| F5 tornado | |
| on the Fujita scale | |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 48 |
| Injuries | 510 |
Part of the Tornado outbreak of February 21–22, 1971 | |
On the afternoon of Sunday, February 21, 1971, a deadly and long-tracked F5 tornado impacted the Mississippi Delta, killing 48 and injuring over 500. The tornado was the strongest tornado of the 1971 Mississippi Delta tornado outbreak, and second deadliest behind a later F4 tornado the same day. The tornado is most notable for tracking directly through Inverness, Mississippi, destroying over 90% of the town. The tornado is the first and only F5/EF5 tornado to impact the state of Louisiana.