Mississippi mostly spared as storms move through South, spawning tornadoes in New Orleans

Mississippi escaped the storms that moved through the South on Tuesday resulting in two tornadoes touching down in New Orleans and knocking out power to thousands.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said in a press statement Wednesday that it is working with multiple counties to assess damage after the severe weather, including tornadoes, hail, damaging winds and flash flooding impacted the state on Tuesday.

“Currently, two injuries (Holmes, Copiah) have been reported due to yesterday’s storms,” according to the statement. “Multiple fallen trees/limbs were reported across the state, impacting roads and creating power outages.”

As assessments continued Wednesday morning, 12 counties were reporting damage to homes.

“We anticipate that number to change through the damage assessment process,” the statement said.

Those counties:

• Adams

• Attala

• Clay

• Copiah

• Hinds • Holmes

• Jefferson

• Kemper

• Madison

• Smith

• Warren

• Yazoo

“We encourage residents that sustained damage to their homes to report it to their counties using MEMA’s self-report tool,” MEMA’s press statement said. “As a reminder, this is not an application for financial assistance but information-gathering purposes.”

MEMA is providing tarps and UAS (drone) assistance to requesting counties

Contact: 866-920-MEMA (6362)

As of around 8 a.m. Wednesday, less than 8,000 customers were reported without power in Mississippi.

Below is a recap of our live coverage as storms moved through the state.

5 p.m.: Hattiesburg sees minor flooding

A tornado watch is in place for Jasper County and Newton County until 5:30 p.m.

There is standing water around the intersection of W. 7th Street and N. 25th Ave. in Hattiesburg. Areas with flood prone-streets are seeing pooling water. Drivers should exercise caution as heavy rain bands move through the area.

About 19,406 customers were without power across the state as of 4:27 p.m. as power begins to be restored in some

4 p.m.: Damage reported

A tornado warning is in place for Scooba, De Kalb Meridian, Marion, Toomsuba and Electric Mills until 4:45 p.m.

The Mississippi Highway Patrol in Jackson urged caution in Hinds County near Edwards due to severe storm damage. Power outages across the state are at 24,429.

3:30 p.m.: Trees down, power outages

A tornado warning is in place for Macon, Brooksville, Shuqualak and Bigbee Valley until 4 p.m. and Clay County, Caledonia, Kolola Springs Hickory, Chunky, Montrose and West Point until 3:45 p.m.

A large oak tree is down on the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. Outages have increased to 25,077 customers without power across the state.

Jackson remains at risk for severe weather until 6 p.m. and Hattiesburg until 10 p.m.

2:30 p.m.: Minor damage reported

There is a tornado warning for Raleigh, Sylvarena, Newton, Union, Decatur, Hickory, Little Rock and Burns until 3 p.m. There is a tornado warning for De Kalb, Bogue Chitto and DeWeese until 3:15 p.m.

About 18,600 customers in Mississippi are without power as of 2:26 p.m., with significant outages in Holmes and Yazoo counties.

1:30 p.m.: Tornado warnings, power outages

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Carthage, Redwater, Freeny, Kosciusko, McAdams Florence, D'Lo, Puckett, Durant, West, Cleary, Terry, Lexington, Crystal Springs and McVille until 1:45 p.m.

Walnut Grove, Lena and Tuscola are under a tornado warning until 2 p.m. Grenada, Winona and Elliott are under a tornado warning until 2:15 p.m. Louisville and Eupora are under a tornado warning until 2:30 p.m.

About 18,500 customers in Mississippi are without power, with significant outages in Holmes and Yazoo counties.

1 p.m.: Traffic stalls on Interstate 20; power out in Yazoo County

Traffic is backed up on Interstate 20 near Edwards and Flora, the Mississippi Department of Transportation is reporting, with an expected delay of nearly an hour while debris from a possible tornado is cleared from the area.

Nearly 11,000 customers in Mississippi are without power, with Yazoo County reporting the most outages with 885 of 1,315 customers in the dark, poweroutage.us is reporting.

12:40 p.m.: Tornado warnings extended, possible tornado sighted

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Hinds, Rankin, Madison, Copiah, Simpson, Attala and Holmes counties until 1:45 p.m., with hail likely.

Possible tornadoes have been reported in Yazoo County and near Edwards, but NWS officials have not confirmed these weather events. Inch-sized hail and smaller has been spotted throughout the areas under a tornado warning.

NWS noted 41 counties are under a tornado watch until 7 p.m.

More than 8,900 customers are without power in Mississippi, mostly in the western area of the state, according to poweroutage.us.

Noon: Tornado warnings issued

A tornado warning is in place for Yazoo City, Bentonia, Eden, Madison, Ridgeland and Canton until 1 p.m.

11:30 a.m.: Tornado warnings issued

A tornado warning is in place for Eagle Bend and Redwood until 12:15 p.m.

11 a.m.: Tornado watches issued in some areas of Mississippi

A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Louisiana and Mississippi until 7 p.m., including Jackson and Hattiesburg.

Hinds, Lamar and Forrest counties are under a wind advisory until 9 p.m. Gusts of up to 40 mph are expected. Hinds County is under a flood watch, and there is a flood warning in place for Big Black River Near Bovina affecting Warren and Hinds counties. Severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued across the state.

10 a.m.: Jackson mayor declares state of emergency

Tuesday, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba signed a proclamation declaring a local emergency for the city ahead of the severe weather.

Jackson will possibly close of viaducts in areas prone to flooding and open necessary emergency shelters, according to a press release. The city closed all early childhood development and senior centers.

Sandbags can be picked up until 4 p.m. at the Maintenance Supply building at 4225-B Michael Avalon St. For further assistance, call 601-960-2395 or 601-960-1750.

The city of Hattiesburg will host Tuesday's city council meeting at 10 a.m. instead of 5 p.m. Forrest County offices will close at noon.

The Hattiesburg 361 Shelter, located at 946 Sullivan Drive, will open at 10 a.m. For a ride, call the action line at 601-545-4500. Rides will be available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Sandbags are available at Hattiesburg Fire Station #1, located at 810 N. Main St., and at the EOC, located at 4080 U.S. 11. To sign up for the city's emergency alert system, text HBURG to 888-777.

9 a.m.: Mississippi prepares for severe weather

Mississippians are waking up Tuesday to a day full of severe weather, which forecasters say will last throughout the day.

Monday night in Central Texas, several tornadoes touched down, with major damage and some injuries reported near Elgin, and damage from another two tornadoes reported in Round Rock and Hutto. At least three people were injured in Elgin, including two people inside a collapsed structure.

In Mississippi, severe storms capable of producing tornadoes, damaging wind gusts and golf ball-sized hail are expected Tuesday. Tornadoes are likely, especially within the moderate risk area, according to the National Weather Service in Jackson. Some tornados may be strong.

The timing of the severe weather will be noon to 6 p.m. in Jackson and 2 to 10 p.m. in Hattiesburg.

Areas of flash flooding are expected Tuesday morning through early evening. Rainfall amounts of 2 to 5 inches are expected with locally higher amounts possible. Minor to moderate river flooding is also likely.

Tornado season: As spring arrives, what to know about 2022 storm predictions in Mississippi

On Monday, the National Weather Service in Jackson reported on Twitter than Tuesday's system "could be a significant event" with the potential for damaging winds, tornadoes and hail. Flooding also is possible across the state. Strong winds outside the storms are expected as well.

On Monday, many of the state's public schools and universities announced they would be closed or would operate virtual classrooms for the day.

Mississippi weather radar

The Clarion Ledger and Hattiesburg American will provide the latest information throughout the day. Check back for updates.

Do you have a story to share? Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Tornado warnings issued. Mississippi sees storm damage