Mississippi hit by storms, rain and tornadoes amid severe weather warnings

Severe storms have hit Mississippi, bringing strong winds, flash flooding, hail and tornadoes to the center and north of the state.

A tornado was spotted in Brandon hours after one had been confirmed in Pelahatchie on Friday around 8.45 p.m. Around midnight, over 11,000 people in the state were experiencing power outages, WLBT reported.

Dramatic video footage on the network showed the collapse of a roof at a home in northeast Jackson and flooding was reported in a number of areas, including in the state capital.

Earlier, the National Weather Service issued severe thunderstorm warnings for northern Rankin County, western Scott County and southeastern Madison County in the center of the state until 10 p.m.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for parts of South Mississippi, including Lucedale, and advised people to “seek shelter until this storm passes.”

Meteorologist Alan Campbell had warned that after the first round of storms, another round would be expected to last until 4 a.m., the Mississippi Clarion-Ledger reported.

Flash flood warnings were in place for Adams County and Concordia Parish in neighboring Louisiana until 5.15 a.m. Saturday, while severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for Amite and Wilkinson Counties until 4.15 a.m.

The network also shared images of flooding near the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson and heavy rain in Hattiesburg on social media.

A second round of heavy rain, lightning, winds and hail in counties in the Pine Belt in the southeast of the state is expected to come through between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m, but the heavy weather should clear out by Saturday afternoon.

Thunderstorm watches have been issued on 14 Mississippi counties, the Clarion Ledger reported. These included Forrest, Lamar, Jones, Covington, Marion, Jefferson Davis, Perry, Lawrence, Lincoln, Wayne, Greene, Adams, Franklin and Jefferson counties.

Mississippi Emergency Management Director Stephen McCraney said that people should be careful of the storms, which are expected to affect a “large portion of the state.”

“We are asking all Mississippians to stay weather aware,” he said in a video message on Friday, “there is a potential for damaging wind, hail and even tornadoes state-wide.”

“Because this system is moving through the overnight hours, it’s imperative to have multiple ways to get weather alerts,” he said. “Be sure your phone is loud enough to wake you up in case of a tornado.”