2015 Holly Springs–Ashland tornado
Clockwise from top: A CCTV still of the wedge tornado in Holly Springs, Mississippi, EF3 damage to a church in Holly Springs, Mississippi. | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | December 23, 2015, 5:10 pm EDT (UTC−05:00) |
| Dissipated | December 23, 2015, 6:25 pm EDT (UTC−05:00) |
| EF4 tornado | |
| on the Enhanced Fujita scale | |
| Path length | 75.46 miles (121.44 km) |
| Highest winds | 170 mph (270 km/h) |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 9 |
| Injuries | 36 |
| Damage | $10.9 million (2024 USD) |
Part of the Tornadoes of 2015 and Tornado outbreak of December 23-25, 2015 | |
On the evening of December 23, 2015, a large, violent, long-tracked, and deadly late-season tornado impacted the communities of Chulahoma, Holly Springs, Ashland in Mississippi and Selmer, Tennessee. This tornado resulted in nine fatalities and 36 injuries. This was the only violent tornado of a larger outbreak, the strongest, deadliest, and longest-tracked tornado of the outbreak, and the third violent tornado of the 2015 tornado season.
The tornado touched down near Tyro and crossed into Marshall County, intensifying to low-end EF3 strength south of Chulahoma, leveling a couple of homes and blowing away mobile homes. A tornado emergency was issued for Holly Springs. The tornado caused major damage in the southern parts of Holly Springs; demolishing a church, damaging or destroying multiple homes, and overturning numerous vehicles. A raceway suffered major damage. The wedge tornado continued to cause high-end EF3 damage in Benton County, killing many people in the county. In northeast Benton county, the tornado became violent as it swept away a large home near Hamilton.
The tornado continued onward, weakening to EF3 strength as it crossed into Tennessee, destroying a large metal building and further damaging and destroying numerous homes in Southern Tennessee before dissipating south of Selmer. The tornado traveled 75.46 mi (121.44 km) and peaked at low-end EF4 intensity. The tornado caused $10.9 million and resulted in nine fatalities and 36 injuries.