Mississippi Power crews head to Alabama
Nov. 30—A Mississippi Power storm team of 75 linemen, engineers and support personnel departed Wednesday morning to assist Alabama Power following a round of severe weather that swept across the region Tuesday night into Wednesday.
The storm spawned a possible tornado near Bassfield and produced heavy winds, rain and hail across the company's service territory. The heaviest damage in Mississippi was in the northeastern area of the state, where a tornado caused damage in the Golden Triangle region.
"Our customers were thankfully spared the brunt of these storms," said Shared Services Manager Scott Cashwell in a news release. "But our brothers and sisters at Alabama Power need our support today and we're happy to send resources to assist their restoration efforts. We'll focus on safety as we travel and then work to get the lights back on as quickly as possible."
Mississippi Power crews met early Wednesday morning and left from service centers across southeast Mississippi. Teams from the Coast area are travelling to assist in the Mobile area, while teams from the Pine Belt and Meridian areas are headed to Tuscaloosa and Eutaw. Additionally, 85 of the company's contractors are also making the trip to Alabama.
Late Tuesday night, tornadoes damaged homes, destroyed a fire station, trapped people in a grocery store and ripped the roof off an apartment complex in Mississippi, while two people died as a tree crunched their mobile home in Alabama, authorities said Wednesday.
The National Weather Service warned that strong twisters capable of carving up communities over long distances were possible as the storm front moved eastward from Texas. They were fueled by record high temperatures and threatened a stretch of the United States where more than 25 million people live.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
