Storms Cause Damage in Central Mississippi

Photo: Courtesy WLBT News near Brookhaven, MS

Strong storms rolled through parts of South and Central Mississippi this morning bringing heavy rain, small hail, gusty winds and even reports of tornadoes.

Reports of damage have been received in areas along and south of Interstate 20 from Brookhaven east towards the Alabama border near Meridian.

In Clarke County, emergency management report power outages near Beaverdam shortly before 11:00 A.M.  A tornado was also reported west of Laurel, causing damage to trees and buildings in parts of Covington and Jones County.

Other damage has been reported Northwest of Brookhaven, where a barn was destroyed while another building sustained roof damage.  Multiple trees were also reportedly blown over.  A church in Quitman received damaged by high winds, local emergency management reports.

One tornado warning was issued in parts of the WCBI area for far southern Noxubee and northeastern Kemper Counties before 11:00 A.M.  No damage has been reported in these areas.

The national weather service reports they are sending out crews to survey damaged areas to confirm any reports of tornadoes this morning.

This weather system spawned severe weather from Texas and Oklahoma through Mississippi and Alabama, while heavy snow and even blizzard conditions were reported in areas from Kansas and Nebraska towards the Great Lakes.

It’s never too early to have your severe weather safety plan in place.  Visit wcbi.com/safety for a list of comprehensive resources that can help you put together a severe weather safety plan.  You can also download our WCBI Mobile App which will send severe weather alerts straight to your phone and provide you with access to our 24/7 weather forecast also found on wcbi.com/weather.