Heavy rain brought isolated mudslides, flooded streets and downed trees to parts of Mississippi on Thursday but for the most part, Leflore County seems to have missed the bulk of the damage, at least for now.
Today’s sunny weather is just a respite. Heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected to start moving into the Greenwood area tonight
National Weather Service meteorologist Brad Bryant said the worst weather was expected south of U.S. 82. He said there was “some risk” of severe weather, but heavy rain was the main concern.
“Everybody got a good soaking,” meteorologist Ed Agre said late Thursday.
Tornado watches, flash flood watches and severe thunderstorm watches stretched across parts of central and south Mississippi, but the biggest threat was heavy rain on saturated ground. That increases the chances of flash floods and uprooted trees.
A tree in Barbara Barrett’s front yard at 402 West Jeff Davis Ave. fell on top of the car parked in the driveway.
Barrett’s nephew, Bobby Musgrove, of Philipp, said extremely loose soil, a dead root system and strong winds caused the tree to topple over, crushing the car’s roof and shattering its windows.
Musgrove came to his aunt’s aid when she called him around 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
He said this morning that the felled tree also took down a power line.
Musgrove said that he planned to remove the dead tree with a chainsaw and that an insurance company representative was supposed to arrive this afternoon to decide the fate of the car.
Across the state, there were no immediate reports of injuries.
Agre said the weather service had not fielded any reports of wind damage but noted some trees were down in the area. “But that may be more to saturated grounds,” he said.
Agre said the system that spawned the severe weather has since moved toward or into western Alabama. Mississippi, though, has not seen the last of it.
“There’s more rain forecast for the weekend,” he said.
Leflore County Emergency Management Director T.W. Cooper said today that Greenwood and surrounding areas fared better than most.
“I haven’t gotten any official reports of any damage. I did get a report of a tree falling. Other than that, it was the usual flash flooding system that I think people are pretty used to by now,” he said.
Cooper said that the rain is not over yet. “Unfortunately, I think this is not the end,” he added.
According the the weather service, rain is likely to make its way to Greenwood after midnight tonight, then continue on through the weekend, with especially heavy showers and thunderstorms expected Saturday night.
Cooper said that compared with the rest of the state, he considers Greenwood’s relative lack of damage “a blessing.”
“We fared real well as usual. Greenville had a pretty bad time of it. I talked with people over there, but we’re pretty much on the positive side,” he explained.
Cooper also said that all of the rain dumped on Greenwood would be good for the area later on in the year, when droughts can cause serious damage of another nature.
“This time of the year we do have to have that water, to take us through the rest of the year. Because there is going to be a drought in the coming months, and hopefully this rain will keep the water table balanced,” said Cooper.
Earl Watkins, conservator for the Indianola School District, said officials had to shift students around Gentry High School in Indianola when flooding got into one classroom. Watkins said sandbags were used to hold back the water at the school, which he said has had drainage problems during previous storms.
Adams County Emergency Management Director Stan Owens said crews had to clean up some Natchez streets because of several mudslides early Thursday, but the city’s main thoroughfares remained open. He said there were trees down around the county, including one that fell on a house in Natchez.
Natchez had 4-5 inches of rain from Wednesday evening to Thursday morning and more was falling, Owens said.
The National Weather Service said Clayton, La., northwest of Natchez, had 7.2 inches of rain over a 24-hour period and there were reports that some houses there had water standing in them.
Warren County Emergency Management Director John Elfer said there was localized street flooding in parts of Vicksburg and two people were rescued from a car that stalled in flood water early Thursday.
Residents in Sharkey County reported flood water touching their homes, according to the weather service.
Downed trees were reported along the Natchez Trace and Mississippi 547 near Port Gibson.
