Severe weather pounds county

Severe storms swept through the area over Memorial Day weekend, downing trees and power lines and causing widespread damage across the city and county.

Emergency Management Director Josh Burt said about 20 trees were reported downed in areas stretching from Dixon to East Neshoba following Saturday evening’s storms.

The damage intensified Sunday night, with more trees falling across the county. In the Woodland Hills area of town, a vehicle was damaged when a tree fell during the second round of storms.

While a complete assessment is still underway, Burt confirmed that two trees also struck homes—one on the west side of town and another behind Pearl River Outdoors.

No injuries have been reported, according to Burt.

“At one point, we had nearly every volunteer fire department out clearing roads,” Burt said. “The whole county was affected in some way or another.”

Burt said that at the height of the storms on Sunday, as much as half the county may have lost power.

The Sheriff’s Department also reported significant storm-related issues. Power lines were down across Highway 486 and Road 529 near Bloomo Junction on Saturday, which were quickly cleared by Central Electric crews.

On Monday, lightning struck two live trees and a dead tree near a mobile home on Highway 492, sparking a fire.

Sheriff Eric Clark said the property was unoccupied at the time, though a relative of the late property owner had left the residence just 10 minutes prior.

Fire crews responded quickly and had the road reopened within a few hours, but the mobile home was declared a total loss.

Philadelphia Utilities crews remained active throughout the weekend as well, working to restore power and remove downed trees from affected properties.

Both Central Electric and Philadelphia Utilities report that all known power damage has been repaired as of Tuesday morning, though officials encourage residents to continue reporting any remaining issues.