By Alyssa Schnugg
News editor
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com
Photo by Larry Brown
While cell phones lit up with tornado warnings and sirens blasted throughout Oxford and Lafayette County around 3 p.m., it is still unclear whether a tornado touched down or if there is any damage associated with the storm.
Storm spotters reported a possible tornado around the Highway 7/9 split during the worst of the storms that passed through the area.
However, local emergency management officials could not yet be reached for comment on whether a tornado touched down in that or any other area in the county.
North East Mississippi Electric Power Association is reporting more than 350 homes without power just northeast of the split around Highway 6 between Yocona and Lafayette Springs but it is unknown what caused the outages at this time.
No outages are being reported in the Oxford city limits.
Lafayette County schools delayed releasing students until the warning passed. In Oxford, buses were told to reroute to a safe place and hold until any threat had passed. Students were dropped off about 45 minutes later than usual.
Oxford and Lafayette County remain under a tornado watch until 9 p.m. Thunderstorms are expected to continue through the night, ending at around 1 a.m., according to the National Weather Service. The storms are a result of an incoming cold front.
This is a developing story. Check back with Hottytoddy.com for updates.
