Although the National Weather Service has verified that three EF-1 tornadoes hit Attala County late in the afternoon of Sunday, Dec. 29, there was no loss of life, and most damage was limited to trees and outbuildings. In all there was damage to 14 structures, 13 of which were on residential properties.
The Newport tornado hit first, touching down near the Attala/Leake line at 3:35 p.m. It brought 105 m.p.h. winds and ran a 6.8-mile path through the area with a maximum width of 400 yards. It ended just seven minutes later.
The Ethel tornado then touched down north of the Kosciusko airport, crossed the Natchez Trace, and continued up Highway 12 near County Road 2111. It hit around 3:53 p.m. with 105 m.p.h. winds and took a 6.61-mile path, stretching up to 500 yards wide.
The McCool tornado touched down in the woods south of Highway 12 around 4:03 p.m., crossed the highway, and went as far as the opposite side of County Road 3122. It was the last and strongest to hit, with 107 m.p.h. winds and cutting a 7.73-mile path as much as 900 yards wide before ending eight minutes later at 4:11 p.m.
The three most severely damaged properties were in the McCool area with the worst at a home on County Road 2115, and two receiving lesser damage on the south side of Highway 12.
According to Danny Townsend, county emergency manager, all power was restored within a couple of days, but there is still a phone service outage in some of the outer-lying areas of the county.
The county will not qualify for federal disaster assistance, but fortunately, most residents do have insurance that will help them recover, Townsend said.
She’s got your goat
In a more light-hearted storm-related incident, McCool resident Christie Moody, chairman of the Attala County School Board, was out in her yard clearing storm debris after the tornado had passed when she witnessed an odd site — a goat walking up the middle of Highway 12 with a highway patrol vehicle following slowly behind.
“I was out cutting trees and there’s a goat in front of him (highway patrolman) and he’s herding the goat up Highway 12. I was stunned. You just don’t see that every day,” Moody told The Star-Herald. “I think she was scared with all the traffic on the highway and the sweet patrolman would hit the siren every once in awhile to warn drivers.”
Moody ran through her yard toward the patrol car and the goat.
“I started calling, ‘Here goat, goat, goat,’ I mean how do you call a goat?” she said with a laugh. “I got her to come into my yard and put her in my dog pen.”
Moody made calls to neighbors she knew who keep goats to no avail. But a facebook post helped find the goat’s rightful place.
“A lady that lives up the highway — Megan Hubbard — called and said the goat was hers and I learned that the goat’s name is Bella,” said Moody. Hubbard soon came to retrieve Bella, who had apparently escaped her enclosure which had been damaged by the tornado.
“I’m just so glad because I didn’t want anything to happen to her,” said Moody of the goat rescue.
