16 structures damaged; power out for thousands

An apparent tornado ripped though a four-mile wide area of Warren County south and east of Vicksburg at about 5 p.m. Monday, damaging more than a dozen structures and leaving thousands without power into this morning.

The storm began its path of destruction at U.S. 61 South at Glass Road and cut a path four miles wide and six miles long east to Oak Park before the debris trail splits west of Mississippi 27, leaving damage along Stenson Road, Warriors Trial and Duncan Road, Warren County Emergency Manager John Elfer said.

“It traveled almost due east into Bovina and then into Edwards,” Elfer said.

The storm, which has not been official labeled a tornado, also dumped 1.13 inches of rain at Vicksburg Water Treatment Plant on Haining Road. Pea-sized hail was reported across the storm-wrecked area, and in downtown Vicksburg.

One person reported being injured, but the injuries could not be confirmed this morning, Elfer said.

“We couldn’t confirm that anyone actually went to the hospital,” he said.

At least 16 structures were damaged during the storm, which is believed to be a tornado, Elfer said.

“We had police officers around the four-way intersection [at U.S. 80 and Mississippi 27] who said they saw the funnel cloud,” Elfer said.

The National Weather Service will make the final determination, he said.

“We’ve got damage from Vicksburg to Tupelo, but at some point they will do a damage assessment,” he said.

One of the storm-damaged homes belongs to Bonnie and Monty Wigley at 6104 Indiana Ave. A large oak tree fell into the family’s living room. No one was home when the tree fell.

“I wanted to cry,” Bonnie Wigley said after seeing the damage at her home. “There’s no words to really describe it.”

At least one other family was displaced because of the storm, Elfer said.

About 2,200 people were still without power this morning, according to Entergy.

Gibson Road was closed to traffic this morning as Entergy crews were replacing a utility line, Sheriff Martin Pace said.

“We have several utility poles that have toppled power lines and are blocking the road,” Pace said.

An extra shift of Warren County deputies cut trees to open roads across the storm damaged area, and continued working this morning, Pace said. During the storm, deputies responded to 90 weather-related calls he said.

“We doubled our manpower throughout the night,” Pace said.

Warriors Trial, Beeline Road, and Duncan Road were also closed this morning because of downed trees and power lines, Elfer said.

In Vicksburg, two structures were damaged, and flash flooding was reported, Police Chief Walter Armstrong said.

“At the height of the storm, we had some streets flooded, but when it stopped raining, they subsided,” Armstrong said.

Power lines and trees were reported down across the city, he said.