According to Winston County Emergency Management Director, Jimmy Lovorn, the storm that caused severe damage to the southern part of the county on Wednesday night, April 13, has been confirmed as an EF-1 tornado, which can have winds speeds reaching 120 mph.
The storm formed in Neshoba County around the Burnside area, and crossed into Winston County in the Union Ridge and Oak Grove communities, traveling in a northeasterly direction, through the Nanih Waiya area, and even impacting the Ellison Ridge area.
Lovorn stated that he was not sure how many miles the storm traveled in the county, but it did appear to stay on the ground the entire time.
No injuries were reported, but 59 structures, mostly houses and barns, were damaged, with two homes destroyed in the Nanih Waiya area, and one severely damaged in the Noxapater region.
At the peak there were more than two-thousand homes without power in the two county area. EMEPA’s electric system sustained at least 120 broken poles, 70 of which were 3-phase poles.
Lovorn said that he believed they were all restored sometime Friday.
Lovorn added that the response began immediately, with all county volunteer fire departments involved, with some the Louisville Fire Department full-time firefighters assisting, as well. Several private citizens volunteered and helped to clear roadways and debris, also.
Lovorn stated that this appears to be a pattern that will repeat itself, with more severe weather possible later this month and on into early May.
Lovorn also added that in the future anyone suffering damage to home or property should report the damage through 9-1-1 at the time of the incident.
Twenty-four counties reported some sort of damage in their area from the storm.
MEMA encourages residents that sustained damage to their homes to report it to their counties using MEMA’s self-report tool.
