Storm Tracker: It's Catastrophic, EF-4+ Type Damage In Rolling Fork, MS

Hey, we've got Brandon Clement live on the phone now from Rolling Fork, Mississippi. We've got your live pictures pulled up here, Brandon. I can't imagine what you're seeing there on the ground. Yeah, it's catastrophic. It's, I hate to just put a tornado rating out there, but this is the EF4, tight damage plus. And if you're looking at night, it's really hard to imagine what it's gonna look like during the day. You're seeing this from the really high end tornadoes.

You're seeing cars picked up, thrown, tossed, trees, the bar, shredded, homes completely leveled. You can't tell where one home begins and the next one ends. It's just a mash of all types of debris pushed in. Got first responders and rescue teams from all over the state here, just see flashlights. It looks almost like a concert out in the field from people just doing search and rescue or homeowners and people looking for belonging. You arrived shortly after this move done through. I know that you were in pursuit of the storms throughout the afternoon as well.

This is a worst case scenario, an event that started off on the western portion of the threat zone, fairly quiet. Then we moved into this zone, which was of most concern, and we saw the worst case scenario, what we feared here over the last few days. What were your thoughts as you were seeing this unfolding? This was a tornado that appeared to have stayed on the ground for at least 80 miles. Well, I was talking to some friends, also guys that come out and chase and do video stuff. And it's like another busted setup in Dixie because everything in the south this year has been all these moderate risks and they haven't really come to fruition. And earlier in the day, we're talking, it's almost dark and I'm like, look, it's not over. This forecast is, everything comes together right at dark and after.

And all it takes is one storm. That's what we got, one storm. One storm did all this, all the way to the state of Mississippi. And it's just catastrophic, it's devastating for a lot of communities, a lot of people in rural areas that aren't in towns that we're hearing about, have lost everything. So we're gonna hear all the stories and all the really bad news over the coming days because it's gonna take days to sort this out. That's my question. So what's it like for people there? We always talk about how the most dangerous and sadly the most deadly tornado events are ones that happen after dark.

And now we're in communities like Rolling Fork where the whole community has been devastated, power is completely out and it's dark. What are the search and rescue operations that are underway like in these areas? It's flashlight, lots of flashlights. I've got a car with several large light bars on each side and I've been just rolling through, putting the light bars on, trying to help people out with just light. If everybody comes around, just helps with whatever they can. They have a lady here that had bottles of water and coolers full of water and ice just handing them out to people. Whenever you see the disasters unfold, there'll be people here with food. Before the sun comes up, passing out to the first responders, it becomes its own little city where people just have to come together and provide whatever they can to get through it.

And that's the good part about disasters that brings communities together. But the bad part, what you're seeing right here is complete catastrophe. And it's gonna take months and months and years to rebuild all this. It does. This is a heartbreaking night for the state of Mississippi. I know you've been doing this a while. When you see something like this, does it call you back to anything that you've experienced in your career? Yeah, I don't know if you've got my stream right now or not, but there's a tree sitting in the middle, it's deep bark and you can just tell it's, I can look at that one tree and I already know what's happened all around me.

I've just seen it so many times. When you pull up and see a tree that looks like this, you already know what it's gonna look like when the sun comes out tomorrow. And for those that don't, it's just gonna be complete devastation to the horizon. It's gonna be awful. Brandon Clement with Live Storms Media, thank you for your insight. This is a devastating night. We appreciate you talking with us here on Fox Weather.

I'm Amy Freese. Welcome to Fox Weather's YouTube page. We have more great videos on the way. So make sure to subscribe to stay updated on all things weather.

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