section_path: January/January 3–5 (United States)
section_name: January 3–5 (United States)
paragraph_text: January 3–5 (United States)
  
  From January 3 to January 7, a major winter storm passed over the contiguous United States. The storm system made landfall on January 3 over the West Coast of the United States, where it produced the first tornado of the year, a brief EFU tornado in rural Tehama County, California, which caused no damage. On January 4, a low pressure system organized over the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma. Interacting with the pre-established cold temperatures, the system's warm front was predicted to generate severe thunderstorms across Southern United States the following day, prompting the Storm Prediction Center to issue an enhanced risk for the region. The outlook included a 10% risk area for tornadoes, along with the potential for large hail and damaging winds.
  
  On January 5, a small tornado outbreak occurred as a squall line of severe thunderstorms passed through the region, producing multiple tornadoes in Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama, a couple of which were strong. A high-end EF2 tornado touched down near Marion, Louisiana, completely destroying a mobile home and a well-built shop building, damaging the roofs of multiple houses, and snapping many large trees. In Mississippi, a low-end EF2 tornado snapped or uprooted numerous trees and downed power poles as it passed to the north of Brooksville. High-end EF1 tornadoes caused moderate tree and structure damage in the rural Mississippi communities of Boon and Gwinville as well. An EF1 tornado near Pelahatchie prompted a PDS tornado warning, damaged chicken houses, downed trees and power lines, and caused an indirect injury when a train ran into a downed tree that had fallen onto railroad tracks. A total of 14 tornadoes were confirmed, resulting in one indirect injury and no fatalities.