Mississippi storms: Severe weather kills 1, brings more injuries, property damage

A week after devastating tornadoes ripped through Central Mississippi killing more than 20, a band of severe storms hit Northern Mississippi causing at least one death, more injuries and bringing property damage.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Association confirmed Saturday one person was killed and four more were injured in Pontotoc County because of the storms. The severity of the four injuries was not immediately clear. Social media posts showed downed trees, blocked roads and damaged homes.

Damage was also reported in Lee County. Tupelo Mayor Todd Jordan said while there were pockets of intense property damage, only a few injuries had been reported after the storm. The city also said telephone lines were temporarily down Saturday morning.

“The City of Tupelo is fortunate that there were no fatalities and not many injuries sustained during last night’s storm,” Jordan said in a statement. “There is some significant property damage, but that was confined mainly to one area in the southeast part of the city. I want to thank our city crews for answering the call and working all night long to assist in getting operations back to normal.”

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As of Saturday morning, residents and storm spotters had reported tornado touchdowns in Northern Mississippi but the National Weather Service had not confirmed any tornadoes.

The DeSoto County Sheriff's Department said emergency crews worked into Saturday morning assessing damage, searching through debris and cutting trees.

"Hardest hit area was Eudora. Thankfully no injuries reported, but lots of damage & downed trees & power lines," the department said in a social media statement.

During the worst of the storms Friday night, Southaven Police reported multiple power outages.

The same band of storms tore through Arkansas and Tennessee, resulting in four deaths in Wynne, Arkansas, and extensive property damage on both sides of the Mississippi River. Multiple storm cells battered the region for hours, with the local National Weather Service not giving the all-clear for the Mid-South until after 3 a.m. Saturday.

Corinne S Kennedy covers economic development, real estate and healthcare for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached via email at Corinne.Kennedy@CommercialAppeal.com

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Mississippi weather: Tornado, storm damage, 1 dead in Pontotoc County