Eyes of the nation on Mississippi after deadly tornadoes ravage communities
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Updated: 9:10 AM CDT Mar 17, 2025
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BACK TO YOU, JOE. >> ALL RIGHT. THANKS, KATIE. AS WE CONTINUE TO RECAP THE STORM DAMAGE THAT HAS HAPPENED ACROSS THE STATE, WE ARE JOINED BY A VERY SPECIAL GUEST THIS MORNING, THE AUTHORITY ON ABC NEWS WEATHER. THEIR CHIEF METEOROLOGIST. GINGER. GINGER ZEE JOINS US NOW. SHE’S LIVE IN WALTHALL COUNTY. AND GINGER, WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WEEKEND FROM THOSE STORMS? >> YEAH. SO FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME, JOE. IT IS GREAT TO BE WITH YOU. AND I’M SORRY THAT IT’S UNDER THESE CONDITIONS, BUT HERE WE ARE IN TYLERTOWN AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW ME. I’VE STORM CHASED SINCE I WAS 19 YEARS OLD. I’VE SEEN A LOT OF TORNADOES AND A LOT OF TORNADO DAMAGE, BUT IT’S STILL STUNNING EVERY TIME YOU SEE IT, BECAUSE THIS IS A CABIN THAT WAS KIND OF WRAPPED AROUND THIS TREE, AND THERE ARE A LOT OF CABINS HERE AT THE PARADISE RANCH RV RESORT IN TYLERTOWN THAT WERE WRECKED. AND EVEN IF THEY’RE STANDING, THEY’RE KIND OF PUNCTURED BY THESE GIANT PINES AND THE CLEAR CUTTING OF THESE TREES FROM THIS EF2 TORNADO. WE GOT THE PRELIMINARY SURVEY IN FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, NEW ORLEANS, EF2 WINDS AT LEAST 111MPH. THAT WAS REALLY LONG. WE HAVEN’T SEEN HOW LONG THE DAMAGE PATH IS, BUT WE KEPT RUNNING ACROSS POCKETS OF IT SO OUR HEARTS ARE HEAVY FOR THE FAMILY THAT LOST THEIR LIVES IN THIS TORNADO. BUT OF COURSE, WE SHARE WITH THE NATION THIS MORNING ON GOOD MORNING AMERICA, NOT JUST THE STORMS HERE, BUT WE’RE TALKING 33 CONFIRMED TORNADOES ACROSS AT LEAST NINE STATES. AND THAT’S JUST SO FAR. A LOT OF THE SURVEYS STILL HAVE YET TO BE DONE. THERE WERE MORE THAN 60 REPORTED TORNADOES. AND ON TOP OF THAT WAS THE WILDFIRES. IT WAS THE DUST STORM. THIS SPRING STORM REALLY BROUGHT THE HEAT AND THE START OF THE SEASON, WHICH WE HATE TO SEE. SO AGAIN, HEAVY HEARTS AND MY MY PRAYERS AND THOUGHTS ARE WITH EVERYBODY HERE. AND I REALLY WANT TO SEND A BIG SHOUT OUT TO ALL OF YOU BECAUSE YOU WERE INCREDIBLY HELPFUL. LEE, YOUR NEWS DIRECTOR, HELPED OUT SO MUCH GETTING US HERE. WE WERE DRIVING IN FROM BIRMINGHAM, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THE END OF THE STORM,
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Eyes of the nation on Mississippi after deadly tornadoes ravage communities
Mississippi is once again in the national spotlight as residents across the state work to clean up after the weekend’s deadly tornadoes.An EF-2 tornado that struck Walthall County killed three people. The track of that tornado went on for 70 miles, according to state officials. Drone video from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency shows wide swaths of trees that were snapped and knocked over. It looks almost like a pile of matchsticks. ABC’s Ginger Zee was in Tylertown on Monday and spoke live to 16 WAPT’s Joe Cook.“I’ve storm chased since I was 19 years old. I’ve seen a lot of tornadoes and a lot of tornado damage, but it’s still stunning every time you see it,” Zee said. “This is a cabin that is kind of wrapped around this tree. There are a lot of cabins here at the Paradise RV Resort here in Tylertown that were wrecked. Even if they’re standing, they’re kind of punctured by these giant pines.” Zee said the tornado with winds up to 100 mph clear cut the trees for miles. “Our hearts are heavy for the family that lost their lives in this tornado,” Zee said.Saturday’s storm was huge, spinning up 33 confirmed tornadoes across at least nine states, according to Zee.The 16 WAPT Weather Team was on the air for hours on Saturday, tracking the tornadoes that were triggered by supercells. In some cases, two tornadoes followed the same path, adding insult to injury to those in the affected counties. WAPT Chief Meteorologist David Hartman was included in ABC’s World News Tonight coverage Saturday, not long after the tornadoes ravaged Mississippi.Taylortown resident Claudia Hernandez told ABC News that she was watching Hartman and heard the warnings. “We were all in the house watching the weather and when Channel 16’s David Hartman told everybody if they lived in Taylorsville to take cover now,” Hernandez said. “I called my 91-year-old mother, and she came over and we all got in our storm shelter. There were like 16 of us, and as fast as it hit, it was over.”Hernandez said while there was significant damage, she and her family were unharmed.
JACKSON, Miss. —
Mississippi is once again in the national spotlight as residents across the state work to clean up after the weekend’s deadly tornadoes.
An EF-2 tornado that struck Walthall County killed three people. The track of that tornado went on for 70 miles, according to state officials. Drone video from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency shows wide swaths of trees that were snapped and knocked over. It looks almost like a pile of matchsticks.
ABC’s Ginger Zee was in Tylertown on Monday and spoke live to 16 WAPT’s Joe Cook.
“I’ve storm chased since I was 19 years old. I’ve seen a lot of tornadoes and a lot of tornado damage, but it’s still stunning every time you see it,” Zee said. “This is a cabin that is kind of wrapped around this tree. There are a lot of cabins here at the Paradise RV Resort here in Tylertown that were wrecked. Even if they’re standing, they’re kind of punctured by these giant pines.”
Zee said the tornado with winds up to 100 mph clear cut the trees for miles.
“Our hearts are heavy for the family that lost their lives in this tornado,” Zee said.
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Saturday’s storm was huge, spinning up 33 confirmed tornadoes across at least nine states, according to Zee.
The 16 WAPT Weather Team was on the air for hours on Saturday, tracking the tornadoes that were triggered by supercells. In some cases, two tornadoes followed the same path, adding insult to injury to those in the affected counties.
WAPT Chief Meteorologist David Hartman was included in ABC’s World News Tonight coverage Saturday, not long after the tornadoes ravaged Mississippi.
Taylortown resident Claudia Hernandez told ABC News that she was watching Hartman and heard the warnings.
“We were all in the house watching the weather and when Channel 16’s David Hartman told everybody if they lived in Taylorsville to take cover now,” Hernandez said. “I called my 91-year-old mother, and she came over and we all got in our storm shelter. There were like 16 of us, and as fast as it hit, it was over.”
Hernandez said while there was significant damage, she and her family were unharmed.
