Many might not have even been aware but Saturday evening the storm clouds brewed, and an suspected isolated outburst of winds ripped the roof from a modular home in Westowne in the 800 block of County Road 2000 in Cooper as well as damaged other metal buildings, tumbled trees, and downed power lines.
At approximately 6:30 p.m. first responders were called to the scene of what was reported as “tornado destroying a residence on the west side of Westowne, and residents had been cleared from the area.”
Minutes later calls reporting downed power lines near southwest 10th street in Cooper.
“The back and some of the front of the roof was ripped from the home,” said Delta County Sheriff Ricky Smith, who was on the Square in Cooper at the time of the storm. “About a quarter mile square was the area of damage – metal buildings, carports – much of it looked twisted. Signs on State Highway 24 south also sustained damage. Fortunately, there were no injuries.”
“Department of Public Safety (DPS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have received reports from Delta County Emergency Management Office and they are conducting an investigation to determine what kind of storm caused the damage,” said Delta County Emergency Management Coordinator Monty Hobbs on the damage including that of Tommy and Andrea Deeds. He said their investigation will determine if it was a microburst or a small tornado or some other type of disturbance.
“I was sitting on the back porch which faces south, and the wind was blowing from the north. I could see rain off toward Sulphur Springs. The flag went limp. The wind changed and came out of the south. It started raining and was blowing onto the porch. So, I moved to the front porch. Suddenly, a big wind blew the roof from the back porch and the back of my house and dropped it in the front yard,” testified Tommy Deeds, who was fortunately unharmed. “I had other damage to a freestanding cover over my prize 1990 Ford Lariat pickup, damaged it, and snapped off a nearby power pole at the ground.”
Several other isolated reports were given. The odd occurrence was that Deeds said there was no damage to his next-door neighbor’s property. Sunshine is forecasted for the remainder of the week in Cooper with highs returning to the 90s.
