Suspected tornados touch down in Tupelo, Northeast Mississippi
Apr. 1—Update (10:01 p.m.):
UPDATE (5:26 p.m.):
"I've never heard a tornado, but I knew what it was when it came over," Pontotoc County resident Peggy Moore told the Pontotoc Progress on Saturday.
Read the full reaction story from Regina Butler:
UPDATE (12:07 p.m.):
Pontotoc County Emergency Management Director Allen Bain said Saturday morning that efforts were well underway to assess damage, clear debris and serve those affected.
A dozen houses were destroyed and some 120 were damaged in Saturday morning's storm system that rolled through southern Pontotoc County.
Read the full story from the Pontotoc Progress.
UPDATE (11:06 a.m.):
The city of Tupelo has released an official response regarding the early-morning storm damage on April 1.
"City employees are out today assessing the damage from last night's storms," city officials wrote in a release. "It appears most of the damage is confined to around the South Green Street area. While some of our city's manufacturers and homeowners in that area have been hit hard, thankfully, at this time, we have no reports of loss of life and few injuries.
"The city will be making a city-wide sweep on Monday and is asking citizens to get limbs and other debris to their curbs for pick-up."
Mayor Todd Jordan, in a statement, said the city wasn't hit nearly as hard as it could have been, given the severity of the storms.
"The City of Tupelo is fortunate that there were no fatalities and not many injuries sustained during last night's storm," Jordan said in the release. "There is some significant property damage, but that was confined mainly to one area in the southeast part of the city. I want to thank our city crews for answering the call and working all night long to assist in getting operations back to normal."
Tupelo Public Works Director Chuck Willams said there was significant damage to commercial properties near Cooper Tire as well as trees down near Chickasaw Trail near the women's hospital.
He said there was also a gas leak overnight that stopped his crews from working on the road. As of 10 a.m. Williams said public works would be working to clean up debris until about midday, after roads are safe.
The department will resume clean-up Monday morning.
Original story
TUPELO — A suspected tornado touched down in Northeast Mississippi during a series of early morning storms on April 1, causing damage in areas including Tupelo and its surrounding communities.
Although emergency officials are still assessing the full scope of damage from the storms, which crossed through the area at around 1 a.m. on Saturday morning, portions of South Green Street in Tupelo and Pontotoc County have reported damage.
Several businesses in Tupelo remained without power on Saturday morning after what emergency officials believe was a tornado touched down along Green Street and Eason Boulevard.
Lee County Emergency Management Director Leonardo Bowdry said Cooper Tire sustained heavy damage to its roof.
Bowdry said three tornados spawned in Lee County, noting he was in Pratt assessing damage. As of 9 a.m., Bowdry said there were reports of several damaged homes in north Lee County. He said there were no reported injuries, noting there would be more information released as he continued to get reports and accessed damage.
Meanwhile, Tupelo Water and Light Director Johnny Timmons said he'd had boots on the ground all night working to repair damage to power lines around Green Street. He said there were seven or eight industrial businesses still without power Saturday morning that his department is working to restore.
"We actually took off power (to Cooper Tire) for safety reasons," Timmons said. "We had eight poles in one block taken out. We've been working through the night. Everything that can have power, does."
This is a developing story. We'll have more information as it becomes available.
