Wind, rain from Cindy hit county

The remnants of Tropical Storm Cindy visited Marshall County last week.

A funnel cloud was spotted Thursday night and heavy rains followed on Friday as the severe weather which started in the Gulf moved northward.

Maj. David Cook, with the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department, said deputy Cody Spoon was checking an alarm in Red Banks and then spotted a funnel cloud north of Red Banks about 6:35 p.m. June 22.

Deputy Kelley Autry then tried to follow the funnel cloud as best he could, Cook said, as it traveled a northeast pattern from the Red Banks area.

Deputy Donald Hun­sucker saw the funnel cloud as it made its way across Highway 72 in the Mt. Pleasant area, east of H.W. Byers School, according to Cook.

It never touched down, according to Cook and emergency management co­or­dinator Hugh Hollowell, but there was some wind damage in the county.

There were reports of trees downed in the Red Banks and Mt. Pleasant areas, including calls from Skating Rink Road, Rabbit Ridge Road and Duckett Road, according to the sheriff’s department and county administrator Larry Hall. Plus, there was damage to an unoccupied residence and a shed on Skating Rink Road.

Hall said there was also damage in the Waterford area, and he said county crews responded to individual calls from 911 reporting trees down.

“We definitely dodged a bullet,” Hollowell said. “It came up quickly and went away quickly.”

Cook agreed.

“It blew in and blew out quickly and never touched down,” he said. “We were lucky.”

Heavy rainfall arrived in Marshall County Friday morning. And flooding was the biggest problem from Tropical Storm Cindy as it made its way across Mississippi.

The Mississippi Depart­ment of Transportation continuously sent out warnings about flooded roadways.

Flooding is a top weather-related killer, according to MDOT. Most flood deaths occur at night when people become trapped in a stalled vehicle in a flooded area. Following these safety measures will help ensure you and your family remain safe on Mississippi’s highways.

• Avoid already flooded areas. A flowing stream can carry a vehicle downstream.

• Never drive through a flooded area. Always remember to turn around, don’t drown!

• If you are driving at night, be especially cautious as it is harder to recognize flood conditions.

• Never drive around a barricaded road.

• If your vehicle stalls, abandon it immediately and seek higher ground. Rising water can engulf a vehicle and its occupants.

“MDOT maintenance crews across the state are trained to keep roads safe and are experienced in dealing with severe weather conditions on highways in Mississippi,” said Melinda McGrath, MDOT executive director. “MDOT crews are prepared for first response efforts and debris removal, and have fueled up vehicles, sharpened chainsaws and implemented preparedness plans.”

MDOT encourages the traveling public to always pay close attention to weather and travel advisories issued by the National Weather Service, Missis­sippi Emergency Manage­ment Agency, the Missis­sippi Highway Patrol and local law enforcement.

There were also some electricity outages Thursday night as Tropical Storm Cindy made its way through Marshall County.

Michael Bellipanni, director of marketing with Northcentral Electric Power Association, said loss of electricity was minimal in that utility’s coverage area.

“At the most, we had around 280 members out, scattered across our service territory,” he said. “These were all due to wind and fallen limbs. I’d say that we dodged a bullet with these residual storms from Tropi­cal Depression Cindy.”

Holly Springs Utility Department reported scattered outages.

“We had quite a bit around Red Banks and Mt. Pleasant,” said George Humphreys with HSUD. “And there was a little bit at Ashland.”