2012 Cleveland-Greenwood, Mississippi tornado

The 2012 Cleveland-Greenwood, Mississippi tornado was a large, destructive, and devastating EF5 tornado that touched down in Cleveland, Mississippi and dissipated at Greenwood. It was part of the 2012 Super Outbreak and one of two EF5 tornadoes in the system, and the strongest of the year. Winds over 215 mph were recorded in this storm.

METEORLOGICAL SYNOPSIS

See also: 2012 Super Outbreak

This storm formed with a supercell that itself formed near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and continued southwest into south-central Mississippi. It produced an EF1 tornado near Pisgah, and an EF0 near Philadelphia.

TORNADO SUMMARY

The main storm formed near Cleveland at 4:03 pm CDT and was already at EF2 intensity. Crossing into the town, 109 people were killed, including 6 at an elementary school. A wood-framed home was destroyed, the city hall was badly damaged, and 15,352 houses had been destroyed. The tornado continued into Greenwood, where 54 people were killed. Before doing that, in open country, 2 men were killed when their vehicle got tossed. It landed in Greenwood but doesn’t count as a fatality in the town. 12,173 homes were destroyed, including 63 mobile homes.

AFTERMATH

A total of 165 people died, more than 1,500 injured. This is the costliest tornado in history, with $10 billion in damage.