Storm slams county, zaps trees, electricity

Published 12:00 am Sunday, December 28, 2008

Fierce winds and heavy rains surged through Warren County Saturday night, downing trees and knocking out power to homes and businesses.

South of the city, at a mobile home on Glass Road, winds tore off an add-on porch and carried it over the top of the home, said Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace.

Trees were reported down all over the city and county, said a dispatcher at E-911, including Freetown Road, Warriors Trail, Blossom Lane, Porters Chapel Road, Indiana Avenue, Golding Boulevard and Washington Street south of downtown.

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On Old Mississippi 27, a tree fell on a parked car.

Trees and power lines were down on Mount Alban Road. Power outages were reported to E-911, but Entergy spokesmen could not be reached to provide estimates on how many homes and businesses were without power or when it could be expected to be restored.

Vicksburg police Sgt. Larry Holloway said a few reports of downed trees had come in but were quickly cleared. One storm-related wreck was reported, with no injuries, he said.

The first raindrops began to fall around 6 p.m., but the storm hit in force around 7:30, bringing winds, lightning and drenching rains.

The line of storms took several hours to pass through the county.

Weather since Christmas Day had been warm, with 77 degrees recorded Friday and near 80 degrees Saturday afternoon.

A cold front had been forecast to enter the state Saturday night, and after 6 p.m. temperatures dropped quickly. About 9 p.m. the National Weather Service was reporting 54 degrees downtown.

As of Saturday morning, total rainfall for the month was nearly twice normal, at 9.73 inches, recorded at the Vicksburg Water Plant. Normal rainfall for the comparable period is 5.19 inches.

No estimates were available Saturday night on how much rain the storm added to the total.

The forecast for today was partly cloudy skies with lows in high 40s and highs in the high 50s.

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Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com