Well it would have been yesterday that the EF4 wedge hit Lamar and Forrest Counties including USM. How no one died is a miracle in of itself.
That area along Highway 98 has been quite the area for tornadoes in recent years. When I was attending USM, one complaint students and faculty rose was that no one really knew when there was a tornado warning precell phone era. So a tornado siren was installed, which turned out to be a great investment. Back in 2001 during spring break, I had to remain in Hattiesburg where I lived close to campus because I had a job in the area. I was watching TV and a tornado warning was issued on WDAM. The walls in the house I was living in would shake whenever the front door would close, so I didn't want to stay there. I made the short trip to campus to the post office because it was the only building open, and I could read junk mail until the storm passed. Westminister chimes rang on the campus tornado siren, then the siren sounded. I couldn't resist looking at the front door, and I kid you not I clearly saw the rain wrapped funnel passing through campus. As soon as the storm passed, I went back home. WDAM said that Strick's Barbeque lost their roof. I said no way, then looked for myself. Sure enough they had a lot of damage to their roof. I also remember seeing branches impaled in the ground.
Ironically the same area had a tornado with winds twice as much. In terms of energy of motion, the 2013 tornado had 4x the kinetic energy as the 2001 twister. Some things you never forget.
That area along Highway 98 has been quite the area for tornadoes in recent years. When I was attending USM, one complaint students and faculty rose was that no one really knew when there was a tornado warning precell phone era. So a tornado siren was installed, which turned out to be a great investment. Back in 2001 during spring break, I had to remain in Hattiesburg where I lived close to campus because I had a job in the area. I was watching TV and a tornado warning was issued on WDAM. The walls in the house I was living in would shake whenever the front door would close, so I didn't want to stay there. I made the short trip to campus to the post office because it was the only building open, and I could read junk mail until the storm passed. Westminister chimes rang on the campus tornado siren, then the siren sounded. I couldn't resist looking at the front door, and I kid you not I clearly saw the rain wrapped funnel passing through campus. As soon as the storm passed, I went back home. WDAM said that Strick's Barbeque lost their roof. I said no way, then looked for myself. Sure enough they had a lot of damage to their roof. I also remember seeing branches impaled in the ground.
Ironically the same area had a tornado with winds twice as much. In terms of energy of motion, the 2013 tornado had 4x the kinetic energy as the 2001 twister. Some things you never forget.
