The below image is a rough overview of the surface pattern
and the pressure anomalies represented by the standard deviation.
Overall, the surface low is rather deep with a front / trough
axis extending south. The deep low and trough are depicted
well by the 2-3 standard deviation area below what you would
expect to see for early March.

The 2 images below are regional surface analysis
maps.
The first surface map depicts conditions at
18z (noon) on March 3rd. A warm front has moved northward
and is located across Central MS. This warm front separates
the upper 60 dew points, to the south, from lower 60 dew points,
to the north. Also in its wake are fairly stout southerly
winds ranging from 10-20 mph. There also exists a substantial
3 hour pressure fall area across Central and Northern MS.

This next map is a 21z (3pm) surface analysis.
This is roughly 1 to 1 1/2 hours before the tornado. You can
see that the warm front has pushed further to the NE. Warm
moist air remains south of the front with strong southerly
winds remaining. There continues to be significant
3 hour pressure fall area across the region. Actually, there
exists an even more pronounced pressure fall region of nearly
4 mb to 5 mb in 3 hours from Jackson to Columbus. These large
pressure fall regions are key in promoting surface moisture
convergence and allowing the low-level winds to remain slightly
"backed". The final feature of note is the "subtle"
wind shift / pressure trough located along the MS River. This
feature is likely the "key" to where thunderstorms
developed. This feature was also reflected in the 850mb map.

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