Little damage as area drenched
Published 12:00 am Monday, April 3, 2000
There were times this winter when it seemed that it would never rain in the Miss-Lou again — but this Sunday and Monday, it sometimes seemed as if it would never stop.
Storms dumped 4 inches of rain on the area in the 24 hours ending at 9 a.m. Monday, causing moderate flooding of low-lying areas. On Sunday and Monday, the National Weather Service issued more than 10 thunderstorm, flash flood and tornado watches and warnings for Adams County.
Lightning strikes and downed trees cut power to more than 1,100 customers in Adams County and Concordia Parish early Monday morning.
No storm-related injuries were reported in Adams County or Concordia or Catahoula parishes – &uot;unless lack of sleep is an injury,&uot;&160;said George Souderes, Adams County civil defense director, referring to the overnight vigil kept by emergency personnel.
And no damage was reported, except for fallen trees that blocked several roads, including Lower Woodville Road and Melrose-Montebello Parkway.
There were some tense moments, however. Just after 6 a.m. Monday, radar at the National Weather Service’s Jackson office spotted a possible tornado in Adams County and Natchez’s sirens were activated, but no tornado sightings were reported.
Lightning and downed lines caused 3,000 Southwest Mississippi Electric Power Association customers to lose power before 6 a.m. Monday. That included 800 to 1,000 in Adams County alone, mostly in the Kingston and Washington areas. Power was expected to be restored to most customers by 7 p.m. Monday, said Manager Percy McCaa.
Power to Copiah-Lincoln Community College’s Natchez campus, a Southwest customer, was restored by about 7:50 a.m. — but not before 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. classes were canceled, said Public Relations Director Mark LaFrancis.
&uot;We had to do a lot of hustling to inform students by sending notices out to the radio stations,&uot;&160;LaFrancis said. The rest of Monday’s classes were held as scheduled.
Those experiencing power outages Monday included more than 200 Entergy customers in Adams County. Power was restored to the Melrose area at 8:30 a.m., to the Bluebird Drive area at about 3:15 p.m. and in the LaGrange subdivision at about 4:15 p.m. Monday.
Circuits supplying power to the county’s industrial park, and the area including Titan Tire and Cathedral School, were also out early Monday but were back on by about 7:30 a.m., said Entergy Customer Service Manager Forest Persons.
&uot;Some of our guys put in 16 to 18 straight hours of work,&uot; Persons said.
Concordia Electric Cooperative crews worked throughout Monday to restore power to about 150 customers just outside Vidalia. Scattered outages were reported in the Jena and Sicily Island areas, said Manager Billy Harris.