1 dead after vast storm rakes South, Midwest

From Media Reports

JACKSON – A large storm system packing high winds and rain caused some building damaged and knocked down trees and power lines in North Mississippi.

No injuries have been reported.

The death was reported when a large tree blew down on a shed in Nashville, Tenn., where a man was sheltering, police told Nashville broadcaster WTVF-TV.

Another person was reported injured by lightning in Arkansas during the storm’s eastward trek. Two people suffered minor injuries when a mobile home was blown off its foundation in Kentucky. The severe weather system ushered in a cold front as it raced toward the Eastern seaboard, dumping rain over the region and creating a tornado risk in the South.

The National Weather Service said in Mississippi, most of the damage occurred north of Interstate 20 late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning even though much of the state was under a tornado watch during that period.

In Pontotoc County, officials said about five homes suffered some damage from high winds.

In Tupelo, the Furniture Center and a few neighboring stores had their buildings damaged early Wednesday morning. Police said the Furniture Center had its entire front blown off by strong winds from the storm system.

In the Delta, reports of roof damage were reported in several areas including Cleveland, Leland and Grenada.

A system pulling warm weather from the Gulf of Mexico collided with a cold front moving in from the west, creating volatility.

The weather service said it would know later where to send its people to determine whether the damage was caused by tornadoes or straight-line winds.

Much of the damage was reported in the Delta.

The weather service said a tree blew over on Lilo’s Restaurant on U.S. Highway 82 East in Leland and power poles were snapped over a one-mile stretch on Shaw-Skene Road southwest of Cleveland in Bolivar County. The roof was blown off an apartment complex two miles east of Grenada on Mississippi Highway 8.

Forecasters said the severe weather was to clear out of eastern Mississippi by Wednesday.

Temperatures were in the upper 50s in the northwest portion of the state to the upper 60s in the southeast and were expected to cool down into the upper 20s to lower 30s during the night.