- A powerful tornado swept through rural Mississippi and Alabama, causing widespread damage and killing at least seven people.
- The tornado was part of an extreme weather event that produced golf ball-sized hail and disrupted electrical service in several southern U.S. states.
- The National Weather Service issued a warning to alert people to the lethal risk situation, urging them to protect their lives and take shelter immediately.
A powerful tornado ripped through rural Mississippi and Alabama, leaving at least seven people dead, destroying buildings and disrupting electrical service after an extreme weather event, which produced hail the size of golf balls, passed through several southern U.S. states and forced authorities to alert the population of a lethal risk situation.
The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado caused damage about 60 miles northeast of Jackson, Mississippi. The rural towns of Silver City and Rolling Fork reported destruction as the tornado moved northeast at 70 miles per hour without weakening, barreling toward Alabama through towns such as Winona and Amory.
The tornado in Mississippi killed at least seven people, Sharkey County Coroner Angelia Easton told ABC News. Rolling Fork is located in that county.
The National Weather Service issued an alert as the storm landed and minced no words, “Protect your life; shelter now.”
“You are in a lethal hazard situation. Flying debris could be fatal to those who are not sheltered. Mobile homes will be destroyed. Homes, businesses, and vehicles are likely to suffer considerable damage, and complete destruction is possible,” he warned.
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When the tornado hit, Cornel Knight said he, his wife, and his 3-year-old daughter were at relatives’ home in Rolling Fork. He said the sky was dark, but their direction could be seen because of every transformer that exploded.
He indicated that everything was silent when it happened. Knight said he was in the driveway until the tornado was, he estimated, less than a mile away.
He then asked everyone in residence to take cover in a hallway. He said the tornado struck the home of other family members on the other side of a large cornfield. A wall of that residence collapsed and trapped several people. As Knight spoke on the phone, he indicated that he could see the lights of emergency vehicles at that residence.
Rolling Fork Mayor Eldridge Walker told WLBT-TV that he could not leave his home immediately after the tornado hit because there were downed wires. He said emergency workers were trying to get the injured to hospitals. He did not know at this time how many people were injured.