More severe weather expected for Kemper
According to Emergency Management Director Ben Dudley, the storm that struck the Damascus community of Kemper County on Tuesday of last week, was rated as a low- end EF3 tornado by the National Weather Service in Jackson.
After damage assessments, Dudley reported that eight homes were destroyed, and 10 had minor damage, however, there were no injuries.
The storm started just south of the Zion-Hampton/Taylor Rd. intersection and dissipated at about the Vick-Jackson Road intersection. At its widest point it was approximately 800 yards wide. At the peak, there were 351homes without power.
According to Dudley, another severe weather system was set to impact the county on Wednesday. The National Weather Service was predicting a somewhat different event than last week, with less potential for tornadic activity. However, this storm front will bring more sustained winds of 25-35 mph for several hours, beginning in the morning and into the night. In the afternoon there is the possibility of strong gusts from 75-80 mph.
This system consists of a squall line without many discrete cells in front; this does present the possibility of strong thunderstorms and even some tornadoes. At the time of this reporting, the squall line was predicted to reach the Kemper County area at between 4 p.m.-8 p.m. on Wednesday.