Although the National Weather Service has not confirmed a tornado hit Yazoo County last week, emergency officials said they have no doubt one ripped through portions of the county.
Jack Willingham, the county emergency management director, said 29 residences and three businesses have reported damage following the severe weather last week. He also said no injuries have been reported.
“Yazoo was blessed again with no injuries because it got pretty rough last week,” he said. “We haven’t received confirmation from the NWS, but I feel safe saying a tornado hit Yazoo County. I also believe we had another tornado in the Holly Bluff area, but we didn’t really see any damage.”
Willingham said he believes the tornado started on Highway 49 and cut a path towards Castle Chapel Road over to George Saxton Road. He said it then went across to Cox Road, Niven Road, the Redbud subdivision area, Overby Road and other areas before ending on Highway 433.
Rob Saxton, whose home was damaged on George Saxton Road, is all too familiar with the damage a tornado can cause during its destructive path. He lost his home in the 2010 tornado, and his family’s business suffered heavy damage. During last week’s storm, a tree crashed on top of his mobile home.
“The whole house just started shaking,” he said. “In the mist of it, it was scary. Everything just started crashing in, and we couldn’t get out the front door because the trees were lodged against it.”
Within moments, Rob said he heard a familiar voice outside when his father Mitch Saxton immediately began cutting through the tree lodged against the door.
“I heard Daddy cutting away outside and talking to me,” Rob said. “He couldn’t get down the road in his car with all the trees down in the road. So he began running through the same hollows he ran through as a child with a chainsaw. He still remembered exactly where to go.”
“He’s my hero,” he added. “I just tear up thinking about Daddy coming to help me.”
Jay Milner, who also lives on George Saxton Road, was also home when the severe weather hit.
“I had a huge stainless-steel table outside, and the wind just picked it up and threw it about 70 feet away,” Milner said. “I had an American flag out here, and I still don’t know where it ended up.”
Robert and Cynthia Eckler live along the frontage road near Patterson Road. Their home was heavily damaged with a tree that fell upon it and Robert’s fully restored 1964 Chevelle.
“The only thing the car needed was a steering column,” Cynthia said. “It was supposed to go in this week.”
Seconds after the storm left the area, the community came together to help each other. The sound of chainsaws and equipment could be heard throughout rural Yazoo County. Linemen worked through the night to restore power to its customers.
Yazoo Valley Electric Power Association reported about 1,600 customers without power. Their work crews were able to restore power to all its customers within 48 hours.
