An unconfirmed tornado destroyed a mobile home in Lincoln County and damaged Wesson Attendance Center in Copiah County Monday.

A National Weather Service team was surveying the damage today in an effort to classify the damage as from a tornado or only high winds. If it’s determined that a tornado caused the damage, the team will rate it and determine its width and path length.

The mobile home, located at 3779 Jackson-Liberty Road near the county line, served as a daycare run by Ashley and Ryan Terry.

Ashley said they were inside with three children when it was blown over. During the initial storm her and her husband and the three children were at her mother-in-law’s house, she said.

“When the storm passed and it started to get sunshiny, we returned to our house and put the children down for their naps,” Ashley said. “All of a sudden, we heard an awful loud noise and the trailer started shaking. My husband said, ‘Grab the kids,’ and then we were thrown from the house.”

Ashley said her husband shielded them when they landed between their vehicles.

“We ran back to my mother-in-laws and called 911 so someone could check out the children,” Ashley said.

The children had some bruises and minor injuries, Ashley said. The National Weather Service confirmed the reports of minor injuries.

The Wesson Attendance Center also suffered severe roof damage from the unconfirmed tornado.

Copiah County School District Superintendent Rickey Clopton said the main damage occurred on the high school side of the facility.

“Most of the damage was to the old gym, the high school gym and the high school library,” Clopton said.

Photos show significant water damage inside the school.

Students were at the school when the tornado hit, but no injuries were reported. Parents were allowed to pick up students early.

Clopton said school will be canceled today, but a contractor was working through the night to get things running again. The school anticipates reopening on Wednesday, he said.

The Copiah County Emergency Management Agency reported damage throughout the county, but was still in the process of assessing it Monday evening. The storms hit the area Monday at about noon.

Copiah-Lincoln Community College reported trees down, but no damage.  Co-Lin canceled classes on Monday.

There were also reports of homes damaged in Wesson. A home on 1190 Martin Road was damaged, as well as a home across the road.

Officials reported that Old Hwy. 51 and Hwy. 51 were blocked with downed trees near the Lincoln-Copiah line.

There was also damage reported in the Stronghope community.

The NWS reported that a tree fell on a truck on Hwy. 27 in Rockport briefly trapping a person.

The storm also brought strong winds to Brookhaven. A tree was blown down on Fulton Street.

Thousands were initially without power following the storms. Entergy reported that 156 were without power in Wesson as of this morning. Southern Pine reported almost 1,000 without power, and Southwestern EPA reported as many as 6,500 without power in its service area.

Storm damage was reported in 19 counties, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.