While Francine was a Category 2 hurricane when it struck Louisiana Wednesday, the storm had weakened before it reached the Golden Triangle on Thursday morning.
National Weather Service reports said wind speeds reached more than 25 mph, with gusts reaching more than 40 mph in the Golden Triangle. NWS measured just over an inch of rainfall throughout the morning.
Lowndes County Emergency Management Agency Director Cindy Lawrence told The Dispatch on Thursday afternoon the biggest storm-related problems the county faced were downed trees and some downed power lines. She said most reported issues were scattered throughout Columbus and rural parts of the county, but she received no reports from Artesia or Caledonia.
Lawrence said there were also some trees that fell on houses, but no injuries were reported.
“We did have power outages in some areas,” Lawrence said. “But 4-County and Columbus Light and Water have been out getting power restored all day.”
Lawrence told The Dispatch the power at the county courthouse was off and on at some parts of the morning, though it was back on within about 35 minutes.
CLW General Manager Angela Verdell told The Dispatch at about noon there were roughly 1,300 customers without power, many of which resulted from an outage at a breaker on College Street caused by fallen trees. She said other outages were scattered throughout the East Columbus area near Lehmberg Road, across the south side of the city and near the 1200 block of Second Avenue and Main Street.
“We’ve been making responses since before (7 a.m.),” Verdell said. “… Outages happen when branches break and fall on lines, and when trees fall themselves. So even if the weather hasn’t gotten very bad, if the winds are high, it can lead to it.”
Verdell told The Dispatch in a text message that CLW hoped to have its customers back online by Thursday evening and “certainly” by Friday, if the weather allows it.
Oktibbeha County Emergency Management Director Kristen Campanella told The Dispatch in a text message that she hadn’t gotten any reports of damage Thursday, just a few trees down and sporadic power outages.
Starkville Utilities General Manager Edward Kemp said the department only saw short, temporary outages. He estimated there were about 10 to 12 total issues reported and the storm affected fewer than 40 customers.
“We had a few issues with limbs on power lines that caused some short temporary outages, but have not sustained anything major that’s requiring reconstruction or new poles or anything like that,” Kemp said.
West Point Clay County Emergency Management Agency and 911 Director Torrey Williams told The Dispatch he received about a dozen calls about trees and power lines down across the county. Williams said crews were working to restore power in the area, which is mostly served by 4-County Electric, though some edges of the county are served by Natchez Trace Electric Power Association.
4-County Electric Marketing and Public Affairs Director Jon Turner told The Dispatch as of 12:30 p.m. that there were 157 issues causing outages across the cooperative’s service territory, which affected about 4,400 customers.
“The sustained winds, the gusts, that’s what really has caused the problems,” Turner said.
Turner said there were about 300 affected customers in Choctaw County, 750 in Clay County, 1,800 in Lowndes County, 250 in Oktibbeha County and 232 in Noxubee County at that time.
Turner said calls started rolling in at about 5 a.m., with the peak of the storm between 7 and 10:30 a.m. 4-County hoped to have power restored to customers by late evening Thursday, though crews would begin work again early Friday if necessary, Turner said.
Mississippi Highway Patrol Sgt. Derrick Beckom told The Dispatch Thursday that Troop G saw five weather-related car accidents on Thursday.”
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 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
