Possible tornado causes damage on Broad Street

Published 1:36 pm Friday, April 1, 2022

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The severe weather Wednesday throughout Alabama had many residents heeding the sirens and huddling in their safe place. 

Lowndes County faired pretty well through a storm that had the potential to cause severe damage according the EMA Director Rodney Rudolph.

“The damage was contained to Lowndesboro for the most part,” Rudolph said. “There was damage to the Broad Street area including some exterior structural damage and tree and limb debris.”

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Rudolph confirmed that no injuries were reported from the storm. 

Lowndes Academy, located at 215 South Broad Street, has remained closed due to damage from the severe weather. 

“We lost the roof on the K3-K4 building,” Barry Mohun, Lowndes Academy headmaster, said. “There is some water damage to the inside of those rooms as well.”

Mohun said the main building sustained a few shattered windows and a few downed trees. 

“We were very fortunate here,” he said. 

Contractors are already working to repair the damaged roof and are expected to finish within the week. School will resume on Monday with K3-K4 classes being relocated to a different area of the building.

Dottie Skipper posted pictures of downed trees and community members working on the cleanup efforts. 

“Lowndesboro, a special place to live,” Skipper wrote. “Tornado ran through last night and played havoc with trees, roofs and one home. Helpers and equipment were out in mass but the best sight was the ladies carrying food down the street thanking those laboring.”

Pioneer Electric was staged to handle issues from the storm before it even arrived. 

“We did very well,” Christi Scruggs, Pioneer Electric Communications Director, said. “We had 21 outages which affected 453 people in our coverage area. We had everything back on by the next morning.”

The cause of the damage has not been confirmed as a tornado at this time. EMA Director Rodney Rudolph said the damage is being inspected today and a determination will be made.