STATE COLLEGE, Pa., April 29 (UPI) -- One of the tornadoes that ripped through the U.S. South Wednesday was an EF-5 tornado, the highest rating on a scientific tornado scale, officials said.
The twister that hit Smithville, Miss., was the first EF-5 tornado to hit the United States since 2008 and the first to touch down in Mississippi since 1966, the National Weather Service said Friday.
The Smithville tornado killed at least 14 people with peak winds estimated at 205 mph as it moved along a path 2.82 miles long and up to a half mile wide, AccuWeather.com reported.
National Weather Service storm survey crews must investigate the destruction across the states hit by the tornadoes before a total count of Wednesday's tornadoes is finalized, and they will also officially rank each tornado using the Enhanced Fujita Scale.
Wednesday's massive tornado outbreak began with the reporting of the first tornado in Esperanza, Miss., just after 11 a.m. EDT, AccuWeather.com said.
