GREENWOOD, Miss.–As many as 12 tornadoes moved through Mississippi both Friday night and Saturday, causing damage in both small communities and bigger towns, responsible for six deaths as of Sunday evening.
The storms have put 217 people out of their homes, said Gov. Tate Reeves, in a Sunday afternoon press conference. He also said three people who had been missing were found alive, and everyone had been accounted for.
One tornado in north Mississippi may have been on the ground for well over 100 miles.
No touchdowns were reported in Leake, Attala or Neshoba counties, though Holmes County did report some damage. Several trees were reported down in both Attala and Leake counties Friday and Saturday.
Besides the tornado in Tylertown, in Walthall County, which may have had a damage path in excess of 70 mph, tornadoes were reported in Grace, which is a small town near Rolling Fork in Issaquena County, and Greenwood. That may have been the same tornado.
Fred Randle, Leflore County emergency manager, said a tornado that happened about 10:15 Friday night came through south of Sidon, then traveled just east of Greenwood, hitting the Redbird and Glendale subdivisions and into the Browning community.
“We’ve got roof damage, got a lot of trees down, outdoor sheds damaged, a roof taken off of an apartment complex. We’ve got a significant amount of damage,” he said.
Kendall Parks, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service said thus far damage indicated EF2 strength from the tornado that went through Grace, Sidon and east of Greenwood.
Sunday afternoon power was still out for some residents and so was water, according to Randle.
But, he said no significant injuries had been reported.
Gov. Reeves said he was taken aback by the paths of some of the storms.
“The track that occurred north of Jackson is eerily similar to the tornado that hit Rolling Fork and Amory in 2023,” he said. “The track that hit Walthall County, Tylertown and went northeast is eerily similar to one of the tornadoes that came through on Easter Sunday in 2020.”
Reeves issued a state of emergency, meaning state resources would be available for local counties.
While the National Weather Service continues to look at storm damage to classify the damage, other Mississippi counties could be facing consequences from excessive rainfall.
“Really the damage is not over,” said MEMA Executive Director Stephen McCraney. “We’re gonna get floodwaters that are gonna move down and impact the rest of the state for probably the next week and a half to two weeks.”
