Tornado touches down in Pemiscot County

CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. -- Utility workers are working today to restore power to southern Pemiscot County homes and businesses hit by a tornado Saturday afternoon.

About 6:40 p.m. Saturday, the Pemiscot County Sheriff's Department received several 911 calls reporting debris, power and utility lines downed and damage to Car-Mac's Stateline Station and the Raceway station. Officers found at least 40 utility poles snapped along Highway 61, Interstate 55 blocked by a downed power line and debris, irrigation systems overturned and damage to the roofs of the gas stations.

One witness reported sighting a tornado. According to deputies business owners and customers took cover on the floor as the storm hit and several victims described the loud "rumbling of a freight train commonly associated with a passing tornado."

No apparent injuries resulted from the storm.

Area aw enforcement officers located a path which was consistent with that of an F-1 tornado, said Pemiscot County Sheriff Terry Greenwall.