Mississippi
Watch: Residents escape wrath of tornado in Columbia, Mississippi
A tornado in southern Mississippi was captured on video sending debris into the air on Wednesday. (Cody Stevens)
COLUMBIA, Miss. – A late afternoon tornado struck the town of Columbia, Mississippi, on Wednesday, as residents snapped videos of the twister while it quickly moved through the southern portion of the state.
Many of the town’s approximately 5,000 residents had a front row seat to the twister and captured the powerful event on their cell phones.
In the videos, debris can be seen being thrown into the air as the tornado touched down in mixed-use areas of Columbia.
“You’re looking back toward between Broad Street and Church Street around East Avenue,” two-term mayor Justin McKenzie could be heard telling viewers on Facebook and those standing by his side. “Law enforcement now is reporting that there is some kind of debris in the tornado. Boy, that’s not a huge one, but I gather it has dropped down after entering into the town.”
DANGEROUS SEVERE WEATHER SWEEPS ACROSS SOUTH FROM MONSTER WINTER STORM, SPAWNING TORNADOES
At least one tornado was spotted moving through Columbia, Mississippi, where cameras captured the funnel touching the ground.
Cody Stevens was one of the many of the local residents who was out and about on what felt like a warm spring day before the storms moved through.
“Just narrowly avoided a tornado right outside Columbia, MS. I’m going go change my underwear now,” Stevens stated after coming face-to-face with the twister.
According to local officials, several businesses and homes were damaged, but fortunately, no significant injuries were reported in the immediate aftermath after the storm.
The town’s police and emergency management teams conducted a survey of the area, while power crews worked to restore electricity to more than 100 customers in the affected region.
The tornado occurred on what was considered to be an Enhanced Risk day by the Storm Prediction Center across several southern states.
Communities in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were placed under a Tornado Watches through the late evening due to the threat of rotating supercells.
Enhanced Fujita Scale
(FOX Weather)
HOW ARE TORNADOES RATED? THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE EXPLAINED
A particularly dangerous Tornado Warning was issued for communities around Thomasville, Alabama, where radar detected significant debris lofted more than 15,000 feet in the air.
Following the storm, scattered power outages were reported and photos from the Coffeeville area, north of Mobile, showed several trees and power lines down.
Alabama storm damage from Coffeeville. (2/12/2025)
(@mattmatta131/X / FOX Weather)
Authorities will likely need the help of sunlight to continue their assessments to determine the full extent of the damage in Alabama.
Despite the widespread storm threat zone, there were less than a handful of reports of confirmed tornadoes through Wednesday evening, during what has been a down year for tornadic activity across the country as a whole.
Mississippi
Mississippi lawmakers face pressure to counter looming federal cuts to health care after punting this session
Wicker: Mississippi powered Artemis II
Published 4:00 pm Monday, April 20, 2026
For nine days this month, space travel captivated the world. Families gathered around their screens as four astronauts strapped into the Integrity spacecraft docked at the Kennedy Space Center. As the launch countdown ended, four Mississippi-tested RS-45 engines ignited, and the ground shook. Seven seconds later, the Integrity had liftoff. For six intense minutes, the RS-45 engines rocketed the crew into high Earth orbit, sending them on their historic lunar flyby mission.
Mississippi should take a bow. The four RS-45 engines were tested at our very own Stennis Space Center, where Mississippians have been ensuring the quality of rocket engines since the Apollo program. For eight years, engineers, safety managers, and logistics specialists from the state have tested the engines that powered the Integrity and will power future Artemis launches. Their work paid off, and the launch was a marvel of engineering. NASA leadership made special mention of the rocket engine burn, calling it “flawless.”
One Mississippian in particular helped make the mission a success. Hernando native Matthew Ramsey handled a great deal of responsibility as the mission manager for Artemis II. The Mississippi State University graduate helped set the focus for the mission and equip the astronauts and staff for the job. Matthew also served as the deputy of the Mission Management Team, the group of NASA staff that comes together just days before a launch. The team assumes the risks of the mission ahead, and they make tough calls during flight if challenges arise.
As the Artemis II journey progressed, the world could not stop watching. Our social media feeds were full of photos and videos beamed down from the heavens. They captured humorous situations, such as the astronauts adjusting to life without gravity or testing their plumbing skills.
We also witnessed moments of majesty. On the fifth day, the Integrity began using the Moon’s gravity to slingshot our astronauts back home. That trajectory led the crew around the Moon, farther from Earth than any humans have ever gone. As the explorers looked upon outer space, they captured stunning images. Among the most remarkable is Earthset, in which Commander Reid Wiseman photographed Earth as it appeared to fall below the horizon of the moon.
When their spacecraft returned to Earth’s atmosphere, the crew was traveling nearly 35 times faster than the speed of sound. Ten minutes later, a series of parachutes began opening. Eventually, the spacecraft’s speed fell to 20 miles per hour, and the crew splashed down into the Pacific Ocean.
Mississippi was once again there to assist. The astronauts were greeted by the USS John P. Murtha, a U.S. military vessel built in the Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula. The ship’s amphibious design was suited to welcome the space travelers home—equipped with a helicopter pad, medical facilities, and the communications system needed to locate and recover the astronauts safely. Crucially, the USS Murtha was built with a well deck, a sea-based garage that stored the Integrity on the journey to shore.
Artemis II was a resounding success, paving the way for planned future flights. When the Artemis program returns humans to the moon, Mississippi will be there every step of the way.
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