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 an unconfirmed tornado that struck the Tupelo area.
If confirmed, this would be the the eighth tornado to hit Mississippi this month, according to the National Weather Service. Last year, no tornadoes were reported in May.
MDOT workers in the northern district were already at work when the storm hit their office.
“The building is still standing, despite what people are saying,” MDOT employee Dusty Meaks said. “There are a lot of trees down and some metal off the roof.”
Meaks said he didn’t see a tornado but did see straight line winds.
The tornado was first reported at 8:04 a.m., three 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 storm 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.
The Salvation Army has sent mobile feeding units to the Furniture Market on
Coley Road to offer warm meals to people affected by the storm.
Salvation Army officials will decide at the end of the day whether they will
continue feedings or other assistance.
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.
Areas of Mississippi, including the Jackson metropolitan area, have suffered damage in recent weeks as storm systems packing tornadoes slammed the state.
The National Weather Service in Jackson said the biggest threat in its coverage area included the possibility of large hail and damaging winds. The culprit is a cold front that advanced on the state from the west, bringing showers and thunderstorms.
Joanne Culin, a spokeswoman for the weather service, said most of the severe weather should end west of I-55 by late in the day.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
To comment on this story, call Kathleen Baydala at (601) 961-7262.
The global warming insert: “Last year, no tornadoes were reported in May.”
That aside, I pray everyone is safe.