BREAKING NEWS – Tornado damages homes, business in eastern Miss.

Published 5:07 pm Thursday, March 26, 2009

A tornado destroyed a business and damaged several Lauderdale County homes in east Mississippi on Wednesday.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said one business was destroyed and two homes sustained major damage when a powerful storm swept across Mississippi on Wednesday, packing high winds and heavy rains.

MEMA officials also said in a news release that nine homes and one business had minor damage and there were no injuries.

Sign up for our daily email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

Ashley Wester, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Jackson, said the tornado hit around 11 a.m. with winds of 90 to 95 mph. No other twisters have been spotted, but a system that has stalled out along a line from central Louisiana to east Mississippi is expected to bring more severe weather with a chance of flash flooding.

The weather service says the storm could dump 4 to 5 inches of rain Wednesday and Thursday.

“Everyone should keep a close watch over the next 72 hours. There is a high degree of uncertainty as far as the placement of the rainfall and even the amounts,” said Marty Pope, NWS senior service hydrologist in Jackson.

The sluggish weather system could cause flash flooding in areas of Arkansas and Louisiana as well.