NWS confirms EF-2 tornado in Purvis, 1 fatality

PURVIS, Miss - The National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed an EF-2 tornado in Purvis.

NWS mentions that yesterday's storm system had a very strong unusual low pressure. The tornado in Lamar county was 100 yds in width and 115 mph.

Meteorologist Steve Wilkinson says, "We obviously had a tornado touch down here at this site. Most of the damage fit in from the EF-1 category. It appears where this mobile home site was, the tornado destroyed the mobile home and car, and some broken power polls puts us into the low end EF-2."

The recent tornados in Mississippi are normal, however they are more common this season.

"You can get your activity during the winter into the early Spring before it lists north" Wilkinson says.

There was one fatality in Purvis. Harris Dale Purvis, 73, was in the mobile home during the tornado.

Purvis' sister-in-law, Joy Matheny, 53, mentions Dale wore hearing aids and must have taken them off before the tornado.

Matheney and her family were at the site after the tornado hit picking up personal belongings they could find.

She says he was a former truck driver and lived by himself.

Purvis' wife passed away in 2005.