I told you so.
Twister, hail, strong winds batter state
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JACKSON - A tornado touched down in DeSoto County on Tuesday, officials said.
Two businesses and 11 houses were reported damaged in Olive Branch, Mississippi Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Lea Stokes said.
A car was blown off a road during a storm, but the driver and passengers reported only minor injuries and refused medical treatment at the scene.
(Sure, who can afford a ride by ambulance to the hospital these days.)
Hail, heavy rains, and strong winds raked areas of central and south Mississippi as a line of powerful thunderstorms forced its way eastward.
The system triggered numerous tornado watches and warnings. Emergency officials said there were scattered reports of roof damage due to the wind and hail.
Tornado watches continued until the morning for areas of southeast Mississippi. Most of the storm activity in the state was expected to end during the afternoon.
"It's on us as we speak," said Sandra Martin, a dispatcher with the Smith County Sheriff's Department, about 8 a.m. "It's completely dark and the winds are really blowing. The clouds are rolling over us but they are rolling east."
In Franklin County, emergency management director Mark Thornton said he was busy checking on reports of hail and downed tree limbs.
"We had strong winds, probably 60 mph or more," Thornton said. "We had reports of six inches of hail in several places - some marble size and some quarter size. People said it looked like snow on the ground."
Hail and winds gusting to 70 mph were reported in a number of south Mississippi counties including Marion, Jefferson Davis, Walthall and Pike.
