Buildings were damaged and trees and power lines knocked down as the remnants of Tropical Storm Olga continued to march across the Southeast Saturday afternoon after spawning at least two tornadoes in Alabama.
The mayor of Tupelo, Mississippi, was trapped in his home for about 90 minutes by a fallen tree. Rescuers removed him at about 1:30 p.m. CDT. A post on the city's Facebook said a large tree had fallen on Mayor Jason Shelton's house and he was "trapped for some time." He was taken to a local hospital for observation.
A museum housing a collection of classic cars valued at $6 million, including a Lincoln once owned by Elvis Presley, was also heavily damaged by the winds in Tupelo.
Power was out to more than 130,000 homes and businesses in Louisiana Saturday morning, according to poweroutage.us. That number had dropped to about 98,000 by late Saturday afternoon. Flooding was also reported in parts of the state.
Many of the outages were in the New Orleans area, including at Louis Armstrong International Airport, where several flights were either canceled or delayed. A wind gust of 59 mph was recorded at the airport, while a gust of 73 mph was recorded in Mandeville, across Lake Pontchartrain from the airport.
(MORE: Remnants of Olga Will Enhance Moisture across the South, Midwest, East, Possibly Bringing Flooding)
Power was restored and then went out at the airport again on Saturday afternoon, resulting in long lines and frustrated travelers, the Associated Press reported.
More than 46,000 customers remained without power in Mississippi, while 40,000 outages were reported in Tennessee.
Two tornadoes were confirmed Friday evening northwest of Mobile, Alabama, as the outer bands of Olga, then still a tropical storm, approached the Gulf Coast.
At least one damaged homes in its wake.
Jessica Shewmake told KASZ that she saw the tornado coming.
“It was there,” Shewmake she said, motioning toward where she saw the tornado approaching. "So I ran back inside and got in the tub. … It was over within seconds.”
A tree fell on one corner of her home and another hit her truck. The home of her neighbor, Gerrie Miller, was also damaged.
Miller said she was inside her house when the tornado hit.
“And then I heard the roar of the funnel clouds, and I hid in the closet,” she told KASZ.
Another neighbor, Julie Epperson, hunkered down in her mobile home with her son.
“I was terrified,” Epperson said. “I just grabbed him and got on top of him.”
Photos and videos posted to social media showed houses with portions of their roofs missing and small pieces of debris flying through the air. There were no immediate reports of serious injuries.
There were reports of damage at a mobile home park in Semmes, about 16 miles northwest of Mobile, as well as other damage and downed trees in the area.
Multiple tornado warnings were issued in Southwest Alabama between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. CDT.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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