24 Mar February Tornadoes
You wouldn’t think February would be a big tornado month. But I have chased 2 EF4 tornadoes in the month of February. One in Lone Grove, OK. in 2009 and the other one in Hattiesburg, MS. in 2013. The crazy thing is that they both occurred on February 10th of 2009 and 2013.
The Hattiesburg tornado was the most memorable. As the storms were starting to fire we found an open field in the middle of the Mississippi forest about 15 miles southwest of Hattiesburg. We spotted a multi-vortex tornado moving through the woods and immediately reported it to the National Weather Service and 911. Based on our reports a tornado emergency was issued for Hattiesburg, Mississippi. We followed it as it turned into a large ¾ mile wide wedge tornado. We stayed on the phone with the National Weather Service and 911 as we followed it into the city of Hattiesburg continually reporting its exact location. As we came across the damage path we immediately started participating in the search and rescue efforts. The tornado was on the ground for 21 miles and caused EF4 damage. The miracle was that not one person was killed. We were grateful to be a part of the integrated warning system that definitely saved lives that day.
