National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

On this day in 1966, a deadly F5 tornado tore through central Mississippi killing 57 and injuring 504 people. This tornado would come to be known as the “Candlestick Park” tornado, named after a shopping center in south Jackson which was totally destroyed by the tornado. One of only two documented F5 (the most violent on the Fujita scale) tornadoes to strike Mississippi in the 20th century, this tornado carved a path of destruction across Central and East Central Mississippi. This was the second deadliest, most damaging and longest track (202.5 miles) tornado in Central Mississippi during the 20th century. To see more information about this event, please visit our website by clicking here!.