Early Wednesday morning, residents of northern Lowndes County ventured outside to survey the damage and help their neighbors after a long trail of severe weather wreaked havoc throughout the previous night.
Downed trees, severely damaged buildings from wind and debris and roofless homes, dot the landscape near Highway 12 and along Cal-Steens Road this morning.
National Weather Service meteorologist David Cox said even though the NWS has not yet received confirmation of the damage by its damage survey teams, he is confident in saying a tornado touched down in northern Lowndes County.
“We did have severe weather that moved through there with reports of damage,” Cox told The Dispatch. “We did have tornado warnings in that area. There is a high likelihood that we did have (a tornado) there in Lowndes County before it moved across the state line. … Right now we actually have a team to confirm that for sure there was a tornado, but we’re pretty confident there was one there in Lowndes County.”
Lowndes County Emergency Management Services Director Cindy Lawrence said a majority of the damage is along Highway 12. While mobile homes were destroyed and there is lots of structural damage, there have been no injuries reported. She said power companies are working to restore power to those without it Wednesday morning.
By press time Wednesday, Lawrence said Highway 12 was blocked off in order to clear debris but should be clear by mid-morning. She does want to encourage people to find alternate routes and not go out to look at the damage themselves.
“We don’t want people coming out to the damaged areas and touring the area right now,” Lawrence said. “Please, stay clear of the area.”
Anyone with damage in Lowndes County can report it to EMS by calling (662) 329-5100.
Oktibbeha
Cox said it is possible a tornado moved into northwestern Oktibbeha County, but it might’ve been from the same storm system that is responsible for the damage and likely tornado in northern Lowndes County.
“We’re fairly certain that was another tornado,” Cox said. “We had indications on radar that could’ve been something, could’ve been a tornado as well.”
Oktibbeha County Emergency Management Director Kristen Campanella confirmed damage to one home as the result of a tree falling.
She said there were about 30 power outages in the Rolling Hills Subdivision, and Starkville Utilities were on the scene working to restore the power on Wednesday morning.
There were no injuries reported and all roads were opened. However, with the amount of rain and wind received during the storms, she said there is the risk of weakened trees and limbs coming down.
If anyone has any damage to their home, they are asked to report it to the EMA office online at crisistrack.com/public/oktibbehaMS/request.html, by posting photos on social media with #OktibbehaDamage along with the nearest address or calling (662) 320-7250. This will help get an accurate picture of all damage within the county.
Clay
Clay County Emergency Management Director Torrey Williams said there was no damage reported in the county as of Wednesday morning.
He said there were around 10 households without power, but that 4-County Electric Power Association crews were working on restoring power this morning.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 51 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
READER FAVORITES
Related Photos
A portion of the steeple at Mt. Zion Cumberland Presbyterian Church, at the intersection of Wolfe Road and Neilson Road, lies in the parking lot of the church Tuesday night after a series of storms passed through Lowndes County. Dustin Nichols/Dispatch Staff
