A regional tornado outbreak occurred during the late afternoon of Friday, March 31, 2023, and continued into the early morning hours of Saturday, April 1, 2023. This outbreak covered portions of the Ohio Valley, and the Middle and Lower Mississippi Valleys, including a good portion of the Mid-South and stretching into the Tennessee Valley. On Friday, March 31, a surface low was located near La Crosse, WI, with a cold front stretching south into central/southwest Missouri, western Arkansas, and into eastern Texas. Surface temperatures were mainly in the 70s to approaching 80 degrees with surface dewpoints in the lower to middle 60s, yielding Surface-Based CAPE (SBCAPE) values between 1500-2000 J/kg by Friday evening. Favorable upper-level divergence produced by the right entrance region of a 140-kt jet streak at 300 mb provided ample lift to produce strong to severe thunderstorms across the region. Directional and speed shear were impressive with 70-80 knots of Effective Bulk Shear present and 0-1 km Storm Relative Helicity values between 500-600 m2/s2, all more than enough for organized thunderstorms across the area. Discrete supercells started to develop across the Lower Mississippi Valley during the afternoon hours on March 31, 2023, eventually tracking into the Mid-South by late afternoon. The first supercell that developed in the Mid-South produced an EF-3 that caused major damage in Wynne, Arkansas. Tornadic supercells continued to produce significant tornado damage across the Mid-South into the early morning hours of April 1, 2023. The hardest hit areas besides Wynne, Arkansas included Covington, Tennessee, and McNairy County, Tennessee. Overall, 14 tornadoes occurred across the Mid-South along with several reports of wind damage and measured damaging wind speeds. Eighteen people in the Mid-South lost their lives in this outbreak.

Tornado in LEE, MISSISSIPPI
From 01-APR-23 00:28:00 to 01-APR-23 00:31:00 (CST-6)
Location: TUPELO
Tornado F-scale: EF1
Property damage: 105.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

NWS meteorologists surveyed the damage in southern Tupelo and confirmed a relatively brief but strong EF1 tornado. The damage began along Nixon Drive, with minor roof and tree damage. Several roofs sustained damage along Chickasaw Trail, several trees were downed and a privacy fence was blown over near the North Mississippi Medical Center Women's Hospital. Several vehicles in this area were damaged as well. The damage intensified dramatically at the Legget and Platt warehouse, with likely failure of west-facing garage doors leading to roof uplift and collapse of most exterior walls. Damage here was rated high-end EF1, with winds estimated at 110 mph. Several semi-trailers were shifted in the back parking lot, with one being flipped. After crossing South Green Street, the Cooper Tire facility sustained considerable roof loss to several buildings, with insulation and roofing material scattered downwind. This damage was also rated EF1, with estimated winds of 100 mph. After crossing Highway 45, the damage path became weaker and slightly wider, with numerous small trees and tree limbs being damaged amid an extensive debris field from Cooper Tire. A small outbuilding was knocked down near the end of South Veterans Blvd as the damage path ended. It should be noted that excessive debris fallout continued for several miles eastward, although no visible damage was observed past South Veterans Blvd. Peak winds were estimated at 110 mph.

Thunderstorm Wind in PRENTISS, MISSISSIPPI
From 01-APR-23 00:20:00 to 01-APR-23 00:25:00 (CST-6)
Location: HAZELDELL
Magnitude: 50.00 EG
Property damage: 5.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Straight-line winds broke one inch tree limbs and tore shingles off a roof.

Tornado in TISHOMINGO, MISSISSIPPI
From 01-APR-23 00:30:00 to 01-APR-23 00:32:00 (CST-6)
Location: GOLDEN
Tornado F-scale: EF0
Property damage: 50.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

A brief tornado passed through Golden, with damage first beginning along Patterson Street in the form of small tree limbs and a power line downed. The most significant damage was along Front Street, where a towing service building was knocked down, a shed was flipped, and the framing of a house under construction collapsed. Also, along Line Road, a shed was destroyed and power lines were downed. Numerous trees were uprooted from Line Road to Moore Road as well. Additional trees were uprooted just north of Bear Creek Road until the tornado dissipated on the banks of Bear Creek. Peak winds were estimated at 85 mph.

Tornado in PONTOTOC, MISSISSIPPI
From 01-APR-23 00:00:00 to 01-APR-23 00:21:00 (CST-6)
Location: SPRINGVILLE
Tornado F-scale: EF2
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

A storm survey of Pontotoc County confirmed an EF-2 tornado moved across the area around 12:00 a.m. CST on April 1. The tornado began in far western Pontotoc County, around Antioch Road, with a few trees downed and tree limbs snapped. Along Highway 9 and Houpt Road, tree damage became more significant, and a few homes and outbuildings sustained damage. A brick home on Highway 9 sustained heavy damage to the front side, mostly caused by a large uprooted tree. Damage in this area was rated EF-1. Weaker damage continued south of the Springville community before another area of EF-1 damage was noted along Highway 341 at Foster Lane. Here a brick home sustained significant roof loss, caused partially by the uplift of an open-air carport. A few other homes had roof damage as the tornado continued to the south side of Pontotoc. A swath of more intense damage ran from Highway 15 across Highway 41 and East 10th Street, with numerous homes sustaining considerable damage. The tornado reached EF-2 intensity in this area, based on a double-wide mobile home being swept away, two brick homes having significant roof loss, and a large anchored garage being destroyed. Bolted footings that remained in place were observed in the garage. Damage to other homes in the area was rated EF-1, and many trees were uprooted, with a good number of snaps as well. Significant tree damage, along with minor structural damage, continued across Horseshoe Bend, Hall Road, and New Hope Road, maintaining EF-1 intensity. After briefly weakening near Highway 278, the tornado encountered the College Hill Lane neighborhood along Old Highway 6. Here, more significant damage was observed to structures and trees, mostly pines. A site-built home lost part of its roof, and a neighboring double-wide was swept away and scattered south and east, resulting in a fatality. Additionally, other homes sustained minor damage, and a small barber shop building was rolled and destroyed. Damage continued in the EF-0 range from Faulkner Road to near the Lee County line, with several more homes being damaged and numerous trees being uprooted. The more severe home damage in this area appeared to be a combination of tree failure or uplift of garages/carports, thus the rating was kept at high-end EF-0. At Country Oaks Circle, a church sign and cemetery sign were blown down, and several headstones in the cemetery sustained damage. The damage path appeared to end in a grove of trees just south of Old Highway 6, and no damage was observed on County Road 41 at the Pontotoc/Lee county line. Along the track, 12 homes were destroyed and 120 were damaged. Peak estimated winds in Pontotoc County were 120 mph. Note that part of this tornado occurred before 12:00 am CST on April 1 and much of that data is included in March's Storm Data. The complete narrative is included in both March Storm Data and April Storm Data.

Tornado in LEE, MISSISSIPPI
From 01-APR-23 00:00:00 to 01-APR-23 00:02:00 (CST-6)
Location: BALDWYN
Tornado F-scale: EF2
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

This tornado crossed from Union County to Lee County along County Road 2700 around 12:00 a.m. CST on April 1.  A poorly anchored home sustained roof removal and collapse of several walls, consistent with a high-end EF1 rating. A church had significant roof damage along County Road 231, and other structures were damaged along County Roads 341 and 2726. In particular, a mobile home/camper trailer was flipped and destroyed in this area. The intensity of the damage picked up along County Road 417, where a vacant double-wide mobile home was swept away and a couple of other homes sustained minor damage. Tree damage here was significant as well. The tornado attained EF2 intensity along County Road 503, where a two-story brick home sustained major roof loss, which began with the uplift of the front porch awning. An adjacent 32x32 two-story garage was swept completely away and destroyed, although it appeared to be poorly anchored. Along County Road 601, another home had total roof loss and several walls collapsed, and extensive tree damage was observed across the road. Further eastward along County Road 601, another home was damaged, and several cedar trees were snapped, consistent with an EF1 rating. Another area of heavier tree damage occurred along County Road 2788 at Highway 45. In addition, the sign at the entrance to an industrial park was damaged. Along Pratts Road, a church and a shop building were damaged, and a few more homes were damaged along the north side of Pratts Road. The tornado weakened significantly after this point, with only lighter, more sporadic tree damage. A couple more homes sustained minor roof damage along Cemetery Road and Highway 370 before the tornado dissipated after crossing County Road 2890.  Peak estimated winds in Lee County were 120 mph. Note that part of this tornado occurred before 12:00 am CST on April 1 and much of that data is included in March's Storm Data. The complete narrative for Lee County is included in both March Storm Data and April Storm Data.