A mall, a large hardware store, a medical complex and a Mississippi Department of Transportation district office are among the buildings damaged this morning by a tornado that struck the Tupelo area.
The tornado was first reported at 8:04 a.m. CDT, 3 miles west of Tupelo.
“The tornado came through the southwest from Pontotoc (County),” Lee County Chief Deputy John Hall said. “It came across the airport and up through the north part of Tupelo.”
Initial reports after the tornado hit were that people may be trapped in those buildings. But emergency workers say that is no longer a concern.
So far, no injuries have been reported.
Hall said the tornado traveled through a rural area before striking the business district along U.S. 45, known as Barns Crossing. Fallen trees and downed power lines make up most of the damage in the rural area, he said.
“An 18-wheeler turned over on U.S. 45,” Hall said. “And there’s a doctor’s complex with offices and a clinic where a tree blew over. The tree fell and blew a car on top of the tree.”
Mississippi Emergency Management Executive Director Mike Womack said he is sending a team to Tupelo once the storm clears.
Meanwhile, a number of northeast Mississippi counties and portions of northwest Alabama were under a tornado watch until mid-afternoon, with the possibility of severe storms elsewhere, according to the National Weather Service.
Around 8am? The mall and the hardware store probably weren’t open yet.