Recent storms take toll on property

A Crystal Springs resident submitted this photo of hail stones collected from the resident’s front yard on Tuesday evening that were 2″ in diameter.

An oak tree snapped by high winds on Cayuga Street in Crystal Springs. (Sunnye McDonald)

Volunteer firemen work to remove a fallen oak near the old Berenstein’s Shirt Factory in Crystal Springs. (Sunnye McDonald)

Parts of northern Copiah County received storm damage “worse than when Hurricane Katrina blew through”, according to one affected homeowner in Crystal Springs, overnight Tuesday and early Wednesday as a strong cold front pushed through the area. Hail, high winds, heavy rainfall and lightning contributed to downed trees, power outages, flash flooding and structural damage in an area in northeast Crystal Springs towards southeastern Hinds County.

Radar estimates showed most of Copiah County received at least 3 inches–and many parts over 5 inches–of rain.

The Copiah County Emergency Operations Center said earlier today that the National Weather Service determined the winds were up to 90 miles per hour in some cases, mostly said to be straight-line winds. The CCEOC said that 40 trees were felled, 8 houses and a business were damaged and one business was destroyed. Bethesda Road had major damage from flooding.

And, many awoke to find their neighbor’s trampolines and other unsecured objects blown into their own homes or into carports.

Many residents in northeast Crystal Springs were without power for much of the night. Crews from Entergy and other utilities worked quickly to restore power by mid-morning, but were hampered by the storm debris.