PICAYUNE — A storm system passed through Mississippi, including Pearl River County, on Saturday causing downed trees and power outages locally. Power outages were reported along Memorial Boulevard, U.S. Highway 11 and other areas of Picayune and Pearl River County. Emergency Management Director Danny Manley said winds between 45 and 50 miles per hour were recorded, knocking down trees in the county south of McNeill. Manley said on Saturday that the presence of any tornadoes had not been confirmed because evaluation takes time. However, calls made to the Item claim a tornado touched down on Clay Road near Liberty Road, knocking trees down onto sheds. Power outages also affected many areas of the city. April Lollar, Coast Electric Communications Specialist, said about 5,700 homes in the county were without power Saturday afternoon. Crews were out working on restoring power, but the downed trees made the process difficult. No deaths or major damage was reported on Saturday. Utility companies in Mississippi and Louisiana were working to restore power to some areas. Coast Electric Power Association officials were reporting wide spread power outages in Pearl River County. According to company representative Ron Bames, there are more than 7,000 customers without power in its service area. Bames said Coast Electric crews were on scene working to repair the damage. Crews were reporting tree damage as a result of the severe weather. Much of southern Louisiana and Mississippi were under flash flood warnings and forecasters were telling residents to expect more rain into the evening hours Saturday. A tornado watch remained in effect until at least 5 p.m. in Harrison, Hancock and Jackson counties along the Mississippi coast. There have been no reports of major damage or injuries. The storm system prompted officials along both coasts to cancel some Mardi Gras activities until Sunday. The city of New Orleans was allowing two parades for Saturday night as were some other areas. In Mississippi, a tornado watch was issued by the National Weather Service for Hancock, Harrison, Pearl River and Jackson counties until 3 p.m. Saturday. In Louisiana, tornado watches expired during the late afternoon but flash flood warnings remained as did the possibility of more heavy rain. About 1,900 customers in East Baton Rouge and West Baton Rouge parishes were without power as of about 11:30 a.m., said Sheila Pounders, Entergy regional customer service manager. Another 3,311 customers in Denham Springs and 110 in Gonzales also did not have electricity, Pounders said. About 1,700 DEMCO users are without power, according to DEMCO's web site. The bad weather resulted from a complicated combination of a surface low pressure system that is moving northeast into the area along a frontal boundary between warm and cold air. An atmospheric jetstream draping over this combination is providing the energy necessary to spawn severe thunderstorms, accompanied by damaging winds. Forecasters said the threat will push further east into the northwest Florida panhandle and south central Alabama by late evening into the early morning hours, with the threat ending by 3 a.m. Sunday.
Local News
Related Photos
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STRONG WINDS — This garbage can along Goodyear Boulevard was pushed across the street during Saturday’s storm. There were also reports of downed trees. Photo by Jeremy Pittari
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PMHS GRADUATION
Picayune Memorial High School held its graduation ceremony Thursday night where the school’s valedictorian Jared Christopher Bates, left, and salutatorian Bryce Austin Warden gave their speeches.
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POPLARVILLE GRADUATION
Poplarville High School held its graduation ceremony Thursday night where the school’s valedictorian Rebecca Starke, left, and salutatorian Meagan Whitworth gave their speeches to the graduating class, parents and friends.
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Local man paralyzed by juvenile shooting
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Potential bridge replacement fund shortage draws discussion
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Glade Woods dies
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MHP on patrol for holiday
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POLICE MEMORIAL
City employees were out at the Picayune Police Department memorial Thursday morning doing some upgrades to it.
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ACCIDENT
ACCIDENT — Emergency personnel responded to this accident Thursday morning on South Haugh Avenue.
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Supervisors support sales tax proposal
The Pearl River County Board of Supervisors unanimously supports District 1 Supervisor Anthony Hales proposal for a 1-percent county sales tax.
Hales had outlined his proposal at two earlier meetings of the board of supervisors and the other four members voiced their support for the idea at Wednesday’s meeting. -
Lawrence sentenced to 57 months for child porn
Picayune native Clifford Lawrence has been sentenced to four years and nine months in prison for possession of child pornography.
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