A severe storm moved through western Washington Parish Saturday but despite high winds, the parish apparently escaped significant damage.
However, a tornado touched down just east of Kentwood and again near Tylertown. Massive damage but no deaths or major injuries were reported in the Kentwood area.
But in Walthall County tragedy struck as three people were killed when the tornado flipped mobile homes in the Darbun community northeast of Tylertown. One of the victims was a 7-year-old child.
There were actually two tornadoes in the Tylertown area at about 1 PM Saturday. The first one hit near the Salem community, and the second one tragically hit at the Darbun community, killing three victims. The Darbun tornado also minutes earlier touched down west of Tylertown at the Paradise Ranch RV resort, causing major damage.
The Walthall County tornadoes were among 12 tornadoes that hit the state of Mississippi over a 48 hour period on Friday and Saturday. A total of 6 people were killed in Mississippi, including the 3 in Walthall County.
The Kentwood area tornado occurred around Taylor Creek Road off of Highway 1055. Power crews were working Saturday and Sunday to restore electricity. Some roads in the area were blocked by storm damage.
Another tornado was reported in Covington near Three Rivers Road, west of Hwy 190, but damage was limited to trees.
When the Kentwood area tornado was first reported, alerts went out for the entire region, including in Washington Parish, which was already under a tornado watch. Cell phones in the Franklinton area sounded with the shrill chiming alert from the National Weather Service changing the tornado watch to a tornado warning, and some anxious residents cautiously watched the sky. However, the tornado passed to the west of the parish into Walthall County, where tragedy struck in the Darbun community.
By 4:30 pm Saturday, much of the storm system had passed by, but powerful thunder and lightening continued in Washington Parish, and the parish remained under a tornado watch until later in the evening.
Sunday dawned bright and beautiful and it was hard to believe that only hours earlier three tornadoes struck to the west and north of Washington Parish, causing tragedy and serious damage. As one Franklinton first responder said, "Count your blessings and pray for Tylertown and Kentwood."
A tornado follow-up team from the National Weather Service examined the tornado damage in the Kentwood area and the Tylertown area on Sunday. After studying the damage and the storm tracks, the NWS team reported that the tornado that hit Kentwood and leater killed 3 people in Walthall County was an EF3, which is classified as a “severe” tornado, with wind speeds of between 136 and 165 miles per hour. The tornado that touched down in the Salem area of Wahthall County was an EF2, classified as a “strong” tornado, with wind speeds of between 111 and 135 miles per hour.
The Kentwood and Tylertown-area tornadoes were part of a widespread multi-state severe weather outbreak Friday and Saturday that has claimed 40 lives and caused massive property damage.
