Posted by
Gray Ghost on Sunday, May 04, 2008 4:13:00 PM
Friday night, May 2, 2008, in Clarksdale, Mississippi, was very exciting. From approximately 7:30pm CST to approximately 11:45pm CST, Coahoma County (and Clarksdale) was under almost a constant state of "Tornado Warning". Tornados were sighted at Dublin (approximately 8 miles south of Clarksdale), Sherad (aprroximately 6 miles west of Clarksdale), Belen (approximately 12 miles east of Clarksdale), Lula (approximately 18 miles north of Clarksdale), and Jonestown (approximately 9 miles northeast of Clarksdale).
The storm that produced the Jonestown tornado moved right over Clarksdale at about 10:20pm CST. A few minutes before this storm moved through, my wife and I (and our dog Heidi) got in our hall closet with two blankets, three pillows, my pistol, an umbrella, and our wallets. In the closet, the sound of the tornado was clearly audible.
We were luckier than some of our Arkansas neighbors, where several fatalities were reported. This tornado never touched down in Clarksdale. Only a few trees were damaged or up-rooted in the city.
Speaking with my mother on Saturday morning, she reminded me that some fifty years ago Clarksdale had a similar occurrence. In either 1956 or 1957 (at 84 years of age, she wasn't sure which year), a similar series of tornadic storms swept through Clarksdale. Only that time the city took a hit on the eastern side of town. Several houses were destroyed; and there were fatalities. (I vaguely remember sitting in bed with her and my older sister while the house shook.) My father, Operations Manager of the Clarksdale Water & Light Department, was out in the storms directing repair operations.
Except for my street looking like a river (and water extending up into our yard almost to our flower beds), God was watching out for my family and we had no damage.