TATE COUNTY, Miss. – Emergency management officials report at least five lightning strikes in Tate County this week, some of which have damaged structures.
The latest strike happened Friday around 11:30 a.m. at a home on the 7400 block of Peyton Road east of Coldwater.
Neighbors said they felt the ground shake when lightning struck a man’s garage, ripping off portions of the attic and sending the garage doors folding in.
“No severe weather in the area, just a lightning strike out of the blue, I guess you could say,” said Kim Brownlee, director of the Tate County Emergency Management Agency.
There were no injuries, but things got awfully close Tuesday night when lightning struck a Senatobia home and it burst into flames with the owner inside.
“I went into a deep sleep,” said homeowner Lowrey Veazey.
“A big loud clap of lightning and thunder. We all kind of jumped around in the house. We’re like, ‘What was that?’” said Christy Freeland, who lives next door.
Veazey said it was his dog, Scout, who eventually woke him up.
“At some point, she comes back in there and literally jumps on the bed and gets me up,” Veazey said.
The fire decimated Veazey’s second floor and his house is uninhabitable, but he’s thankful to be alive thanks to man’s best friend.
“I was thankful, to say the least, that she was there to get me up. She saved my life. No question about it,” he said.
Four homes were struck by lightning in total Tuesday night, Brownlee said.
Freeland said her home was hit by lightning five years ago, but all that was damaged was a chimney.
