Thunderstorm Wind in Warren County, Mississippi

Significant wind damage occurred across the southern portion of Vicksburg as a line of intense storms moved through the river city. Areas along and south of I-20 were especially hard hit. Areas across Hwy 61 to Halls Ferry to Porters Chapel to Lee Roads had hundreds of trees uprooted or snapped. Numerous power lines were taken down with nearly 30 homes damaged by fallen trees. Several vehicles were also damaged by downed trees as well. The wind damage was extensive across central Warren County with several trained spotters estimating wind gusts between 80 and 100 mph. This was one of the worst and most widespread wind storms to impact the City of Vicksburg.

A potent early April storm slammed the area with widespread wind damage and several tornadoes. A bowing line of thunderstorms was the culprit with the main axis of severe weather and damage having occurred within the I-20 corridor from northeast Louisiana to the Jackson Metro to east-central Mississippi around Meridian. Several extensive swaths of significant wind damage occurred, where winds were estimated at 80 mph or greater. Overall, several thousand trees were snapped and uprooted with several dozen homes damaged by downed trees. The strongest tornado occurred in the Jackson Metro area as it moved across Northeast Jackson and into the Reservoir area of Northwest Rankin County. Additionally, the significant wind damage was focused across portions of Vicksburg, Bolton, Jackson, the Reservoir area of Rankin County, the Hillsboro area in Scott County, northern Newton County and the northern half of Lauderdale County. Aside from the tornadoes, this was one of the most significant wind events to impact the Jackson Metro area as well as the City of Vicksburg. Nearly everyone described this event as being worse than Hurricane Katrina for central Mississippi.