NWS: EF1 tornado hit Lincoln, Copiah counties

Published 1:52 pm Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Preliminary data from the National Weather Service in Jackson indicates an EF1 tornado went through Lincoln and Copiah counties Monday afternoon.

NWS storm survey teams were in the area to look at damage Tuesday.

The tornado had peak winds of 105 mph. Its path length was 6.8 miles and its width was a maximum of 300 yards, according to the NWS.

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“This tornado touched down southwest of Norton Assink Road in northwest Lincoln County and tracked northeast into southern Copiah County. The heaviest damage was along Jackson-Liberty Road, Old Red Star Road and Shady Grove Lane. Heavy tree damage occurred at this location. Historic Sweetwater Methodist Church was damaged where it was pushed off its foundation,” NWS said in its storm report.

“Further northeast along the path, several sheds were damaged and some minor roof damage was noted to a few homes. The tornado crossed Sylvarena Road where more trees were down and a mobile home had the roof blown off along Brownswell Road. The tornado dissipated just to the northeast of there.”

Strong storms pushed through the area Monday at about 1:30 p.m., downing trees and powerlines. Some homes, barns and sheds were damaged.

As many as 5,000 Entergy customers and more than 1,000 Southwest MS EPA customers in the area were without power Monday.

About 800 Southwest MS EPA and 500 Entergy customers remained without power Tuesday afternoon. In Copiah County, about 1,000 Southwest customers and 1,300 Entergy customers remained without power.

No injuries were reported from the storms.

The storm survey team also reported that an EF0 tornado went through Jefferson County Monday. It had 85 mph winds.

“This tornado touched down along Perth Road and tracked northeast across Hwy. 28 in central Jefferson County. Damage was only to trees with many limbs broken and a couple dozen snapped or uprooted trees. After crossing Hwy. 28, the tornado mainly tracked just to the south of Old 20 Road for a couple of miles before dissipating,” NWS said in its report.

Winter tornadoes aren’t new to Lincoln and Copiah counties. An EF2 tornado hit Copiah County in February of last year, and an EF1 hit Bogue Chitto the same day. In January of last year, an EF1 hit Lincoln and Copiah counties.