During the early afternoon hours of March 15, 2025, a large, violent, and deadly EF4 tornado devastated areas in and around the Mississippi communities of Tylertown, Salem, Society Hill, and Carson, causing severe damage in multiple areas. Over the course of 1 hour and 20 minutes, the tornado, sometimes known as either the Kentwood–Carson tornado or informally the Kentwood, LA to Darbun, MS Tornado by the National Weather Service (NWS),, or also commonly referred to as the Tylertown Tornado killed six people and injured at least 14 along a path long. It was part of a larger tornado outbreak spanning from March 14–16, 2025, and the third of eight tornadoes to be rated EF4/F4 or higher during the year of 2025, with the NWS offices in New Orleans/Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Jackson, Mississippi observing that the tornado attained maximum winds of , giving it a rating of low-end EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale.
The tornado began in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana at 12:17 p.m. CDT, causing EF1 damage to trees and structures before entering Pike County, Mississippi. There, the tornado caused widespread tree damage, damaged outbuildings and houses, and blew away manufactured homes, reaching EF2 intensity as it approached and entered Walthall County, upon which the tornado struck the Paradise Ranch RV resort, destroying all of its cabins and over 200 campsites. Passing to the northwest of Tylertown, the tornado rapidly intensified and briefly reached EF4 intensity as it destroyed a well-built two story home and obliterated multiple manufactured homes nearby. Continuing northeastwards, the tornado fluctuated between EF2-EF3 intensity, continuing to cause widespread tree damage and more isolated damage to structures, killing three people to the northwest of Darbun before entering Marion County. There, the tornado damaged or destroyed numerous homes and caused major tree damage, striking the Whitebluff area at EF3 intensity and entering Jefferson Davis County shortly thereafter, where it damaged or destroyed multiple structures, including a manufactured home in which two more people were killed. Continuing into Covington County, the tornado damaged trees and structures, including a well-built wood home that received an EF4 rating as it shrank and occluded. The tornado dissipated at 1:39 p.m. CDT to the southwest of Collins. As the tornado was ongoing, a separate EF3 tornado formed and moved a nearly identical path through parts of Walthall and Marion counties, adding to the damages and causing an additional fatality.
Immediately following the tornado, recovery efforts were intensive, but many of the areas affected were left without disaster relief for months following the storm. Walthall County alone spent around $700,000 (2025 USD) on cleanup efforts alone, but were forced to cease their operations for over a month as the county could not afford to spend anymore without assurance that it would receive federal reimbursement under a disaster declaration. Multiple other Mississippi counties were left without federal aid for over two months following the storms.
Meteorological synopsis
As early as March 7, 2025, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) began to monitor the imminent threat of severe weather brought on by a large-scale trough ejection over parts of the High Plains and Upper Midwest, though, by that point, the large spread in possible outcomes represented in numerical weather prediction computer models prevented the SPC from designating a specific area at risk. By March 9, two 15% risks for severe weather had been outlined, the first situated over the Mississippi Valley pending severe weather on March 14, and the second in the Southern United States for a second round of severe weather on March 15. The following day, both areas were upgraded to a 30% risk for severe weather as multiple weather forecast models agreed on increasing threats of hail, wind, and tornadoes, including a supercell-focused mode with the potential to evolve into a QLCS threat. On March 11, an outlook described the March 14 system as "anomalously intense upper cyclone", with a second upper-level trough expected to produce another round of severe weather on March 15.
On March 13, the SPC upgraded the risk for March 14 into a moderate risk over parts of the Middle Mississippi Valley, including much of Illinois and Missouri, alongside small parts of Iowa, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Tennessee. This risk was described as a "regional outbreak of severe storms", driven by the risk of storms producing swaths of damaging winds potentially in excess of 65 knots (75 mph; 120 km/h) over the region, with areas further south expected to be conducive to the development of strong tornadoes later in the day. The outlook for March 15 was also upgraded to a moderate risk as an environment more conducive for significant tornadoes as favorable wind profiles alongside moderate instability produced the conditions necessary for "robust updrafts and intense supercells". A conditional risk was also highlighted further north into Ohio and Kentucky, which were expected to face a primarily non-severe event, reliant on the intensity of convection further south that could stabilize the atmosphere. That same day, as the system moved through the West Coast, it spawned a high-end EF0 tornado in the Los Angeles area.
At the 1730Z Day 2 outlook on March 14, the SPC outlined a tornado-driven high risk over parts of Mississippi and Alabama pending severe weather on March 15. This was just the third time that the Storm Prediction Center had issued a high risk as early as a Day 2 outlook since 2006, the prior two occurring on April 7, 2006 and April 14, 2012.
On March 15, a large warm sector had developed over many of the Gulf Coast states, producing widespread dew points near 70 °F (21 °C). That morning, storms had begun to fire and develop across the northern edge of the area of elevated moisture. Temperatures to the south and east of these storms were expected to rise to 75–80 °F (24–27 °C), with multiple bands of convection expected to initiate between 12 and 2 p.m. CDT. Moderate levels of instability, ranging from 1500 to 2500 J/kg, and elongated hodographs, forecasted to produce 400–500 m2/s2 storm-relative helicity in the first kilometer of the atmosphere, was expected to "favor the rapid development of intense supercells", and alongside strong Significant Tornado Parameter (STP) values of 5–10, were expected to produce numerous tornadoes, some of which could become long-tracked or violent as the day progressed further.
Further towards the north, the consolidation of storms was expected to bound stronger tornadoes to an area further south, with the northern structure highlighted as a potential area for bowing segments and embedded supercells across northern Alabama and south-central Tennessee, prompting the SPC to outline an area of higher wind risk over these areas. Across the vast majority of Georgia and western South Carolina and North Carolina, a weak, unstable air mass along with intense mid-level flow was expected to produce an environment capable of supporting supercell and line structures, with a risk highlighted for severe wind and tornadoes in the region. Storms that had initiated the previous day over the Ohio Valley were expected to continue eastwards as the day progressed, producing a risk for hail and wind, but as the day continued, forecasters noted the uncertainty of potential airmass recovery that could be conducive for a severe risk over Indiana and southern Michigan later that evening, with models showing weak instability below 500 J/kg that morning. Soundings from Louisiana and Mississippi indicated that the warm sector included steep lapse rates of 7–8 degrees Celsius from the 700–500 millibar (3,013–5,576 m, 9,882–18,289 ft) layer. A 125 kn (144 mph; 232 km/h) jet at 250 millibars (10,366 m, 33,999 ft) was expected to strengthen the region's wind profile, which, in conjunction with a lower-level jet moving eastwards throughout the day, produced an environment capable of all hazards, including the threat of strong tornadoes.
The high risk from the Day 2 outlook issued the previous day for March 15 continued into the Day 1 outlook, accompanied by a 30% hatched tornado risk encompassing east-central Mississippi and west-central Alabama. In the late morning hours, a PDS tornado watch was issued for parts of Louisiana and nearly all of Mississippi, and later, much of Alabama as a tornado outbreak featuring "significant tornadoes, some of which should be long-track and potentially violent," was expected to occur throughout the afternoon and evening hours.
Tornado summary
Formation in Louisiana & track into Pike County, Mississippi
The tornado began at 12:17 p.m. CDT (UTC-05:00), just off of LA 38 and to the east of I-55, one mile to the east-northeast of Kentwood in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana. Moving northeastwards as it followed the Tangipahoa River, the tornado quickly strengthened to mid-range/high-end EF1 intensity, snapping and uprooting softwood trees. As it crossed North River Road, the tornado snapped large branches off of trees at EF0 intensity before strengthening back to EF1 intensity as it crossed Irving Branch, snapping and uprooting hardwood trees along North Hayes Road just to the east. The tornado crossed Irving Branch for a second time before crossing LA 1054/1055. There, the tornado began to widen and damaged an outbuilding, removing the majority of its roof and an exterior wall. Continuing northeastwards, the tornado followed Sanders Road, rolling or sliding multiple manufactured homes from their block piers, one of which was later found to be anchored. Another manufactured home had its roof removed, with sheet metal tangled in trees around the property, and wood poles in the area were snapped. As the tornado approached and crossed the Potts Road intersection, another manufactured home had its roof removed, exposing its wood framing, and an outbuilding lost some of its roof panels. The tornado weakened to EF0 intensity shortly thereafter, gradually shrinking in size as it continued towards the Mississippi border, causing minor tree damage observed from satellite imagery and causing roof damage to another house as it crossed J.W. Schilling Road, then State Line Road into Pike County, Mississippi.
Upon entering Mississippi, the tornado continued to cause minor tree damage, crossing McNabb Creek Road and Ed Brumfield Road before turning slightly towards the north-northeastwards. Strengthening to high-end EF1 intensity and widening substantially, the tornado snapped and uprooted softwood trees along Smith Alford Road as it approached the community of Progress. Moving through the southern side of the community, the tornado damaged multiple buildings, removing part of the roof from a house and uprooting a nearby tree. Just to the northeast, the tornado collapsed the walls of a barn, leaving the intact roof lying flat to the ground, before continuing northeastwards away from Progress as it continued to widen. Crossing MS 575, the tornado uprooted multiple trees before moving through Simmonsville, where the outer circulation uprooted trees. The tornado further strengthened to high-end EF2 intensity as it destroyed a manufactured home, stripping it to its frame and damaging multiple others nearby. To the southeast of Dykes Crossing, the tornado removed large sections of roof systems from two manufactured homes, collapsing the exterior walls of another and completely blowing away one with winds up to 130 mph (210 km/h) along Dykes Walthall County Road. Moving northeastwards, the tornado continued to cause widespread tree damage as it entered Walthall County.
Walthall County, peak intensity, & track towards Marion County