Tornado warning sirens sounded through the night Wednesday, heralding a storm that caused power outages and flash flooding throughout the Golden Triangle. Though no tornadoes were confirmed, winds caused the worst damage of any storm this year, officials said.
Columbus and Lowndes County crews worked through the night, clearing limbs and about 50 to 60 downed trees despite dime-sized hail, rain, flooding and strong winds.
Clay County was probably hit the hardest by the storm, which according to Columbus-Lowndes Emergency Management Director Cindy Lawrence was the worst this year for the Golden Triangle.
“(The damage) is just everywhere,” she said. “It”s everywhere.”
Of the counties affected by the storm, Lowndes County suffering the second most damage, mostly off Ridge Road near the city limits, according to 4-County Electric Power Association spokesman Jon Turner.
This morning, CL&W crews were still working on restoring power to customers and likely would be most of the day, said General Manager Todd Gale.
The number of people in the city without power today was still being compiled, Gale said. Across the 4-County coverage area, about 1,200 to 1,300 were without power this morning, although 5,000 customers were out at the height of the storm last night, Turner said.
Columbus Light and Water reported four to five utility poles down while 4-County reported three to four in the county.
“It seems we suffered a little more damage in this storm than in the previous three,” Gale said.
This morning, several roads were closed, including Old West Point Road, and several homes were reportedly flooded on Holly Hills Road, Warren Street and 20th Street North, Lawrence said.
The Emergency Management Agency is trying to determine how much damage happened in the city and county. Anyone with information about damage should contact their office at 662-329-5110.
In Starkville, multiple funnel clouds were spotted throughout Wednesday, although none are believed to have touched down. Meanwhile, intense rains flooded much of the northern part of the city, although little damage was reported around town and in Oktibbeha County.
Police Chief David Lindley described the flooding as the worst he”s seen in Starkville in 30 years. The majority of the flooding accumulated around 6 p.m. along Highway 182. The intersections of Highway 182 and Jackson Street and Reed Road had to be blocked off because the standing water was impassable to most vehicles, several of which stalled in the giant puddles and had to be towed.
An effective drainage system cleared most of the water from north-side streets within 30 minutes.
Elsewhere, several buildings were damaged by apparent lighting strikes.
The East Oktibbeha Fire Department responded to a house on St. Andrews Lane in the Highlands Plantation which had been struck. Smoke could be seen billowing from the attic but the fire department brought the situation under control before any flames became visible from outside the structure.
The strike was the second in the Highlands in less than a week. A house on Kirk Cauldy Road was struck Friday during similar storms but failed to ignite a fire.
Downed trees were reported in Sturgis Wednesday night where several streets were reportedly blocked and at least one vehicle was damaged. Representatives from the Oktibbeha County Sheriff”s Office reported flooding in multiple areas throughout the day without significant problems.
In Clay County, a light pole reportedly caught fire, possibly due to a lighting strike.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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