Oxford, Lafayette Spared Worst of Monday Storms

By Alyssa Schnugg
News editor
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

Lafayette County was spared the brunt of Monday’s storms that produced more than 24 tornadoes in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana.

The storms claimed three lives – one in Louisiana and two in Alabama.

Lafayette County Emergency Management Coordinator Steve Quarles said there was an unconfirmed sighting of a funnel cloud near the Highway 7/9 split at about 3 p.m.

“I don’t think there was a tornado that touched down,” he said Tuesday morning. “The National Weather Service was seeing circulation in that area.”

Quarles said so far he’s only had reports of some trees down which contributed to about 1,100 homes in the area of Highway 7/9 split, Yocona and Lafayette Springs.

“We were extremely blessed,” Quarles said.

Quarles said he has not received any reports that the downed trees damaged any homes.

The storms were part of a cold front moving into the South.

In Mississippi, 60 homes and a church were damaged in Guntown in Lee County and multiple injuries were reported in Columbus after a tornado touched down. No fatalities were reported.

A tornado claimed the life a 59-year-old woman in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, according to national news outlets, and a husband and wife in Town Creek, Alabama.