A severe storm swept through Northeast Lauderdale County Saturday night, destroying homes and damaging a church.

Lauderdale resident Kimberly Harding decided to spend Saturday evening with her four children at her parents’ house.

Harding, 30, said the impending storm wasn’t a factor, as she did not expect to see any damage.

But shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday, Harding and her mother, Teresa Harding, stood in disbelief as they surveyed the wreckage about five miles south of NAS Meridian.

Kimberly Harding’s trailer, which she moved into last May, was lifted up by a severe storm’s strong winds and flipped upside down.

Clothes were strewn outside and a black television set was among the debris. Four concrete steps appeared to be the only part of the structure to have remained undamaged. A red stuffed Elmo doll rested in the mud.

“We were going (to my parents’ house) to visit and stay the night; we didn’t know anything about bad weather coming,” Harding said. “I hadn’t been watching the news. I knew there were going to be severe thunderstorms, but tornadoes, nah, I didn’t think anything about that.”

Harding said her family’s dog, Snoop, had yet to be accounted for, and she yelled his name as she and her family walked among the wreckage. As she scanned the area, her eyes locked onto a pile of children’s clothes that were scattered about. She mentioned many of the items had been purchased last Christmas.

Harding’s neighbor, Fannie Lard, also lost her home during the storm. Lard, wearing a jacket and a red night gown, stood with family members on Green Loop Road and talked over the engine noises of the Mississippi Power trucks that were called to the scene. 

“I was in the bed, and I got up to go to the bathroom,” Lard, 60, recalled. “By the time I had gotten to the hallway, I heard something. And the next thing I knew, the house was rocking and I could feel the house rocking. I didn’t know which way to go. So, the next thing I knew, I was on my back, and I felt the house sliding off the foundation. I thought it was just flying away.”

Lard was able to escape after crawling through an opening in her ripped-apart home.

“It was torn off… everything was damaged,” said Lard, who lived in the house for 16 years.

Mobile homes weren’t the only victims of the storm.

Brandon Speak, pastor of Lockhart Church of God, arrived at his church on a motorcycle at 12:15 a.m. Sunday. A white cross affixed to the red bricks on the side of the church had been turned sideways, and part of the church’s roof had been yanked off by the violent winds.

Speak, who has pastored the Lockhart Church of God — located at 9348 Fred Clayton Road in Lauderdale — for over 12 years, stepped over downed tree limbs as he gazed at the damage.

“We have a tree through the roof; the damage looks fairly extensive but I won’t know how much until we get inside,” Speak, 36, said. “I got a text from someone in my church whose husband works with paramedics, and somebody alerted him and he texted me. So, I came up here to look. It took me a while because my road was blocked off, so it took me a little while to get out.”

Speak said he lives a mile from his church, and mentioned his house also suffered damage, as its air conditioning unit was destroyed.

Across the street from Lockhart Church of God, Jill Doolittle stood in her front yard with her children who carried candles for light as the storm knocked out her home’s power.

She chatted with neighbors who stopped by to check on her. Doolittle’s parents passed away last year, and she recently moved into the property that has belonged to the family for 40 years.

Outside of a mangled roof rain gutter and a small metal shed in the backyard that had been destroyed, Doolittle managed to escape without too much additional damage. 

The lack of severe weather notifications during the storm caught her and her family off guard.  

“We always get constant alerts when there’s thunderstorm warnings or anything — we got no alerts,” Doolittle, 48, said. “It was just like regular little lightning — it wasn’t even storming really bad. And, next thing we know, the house was shaking, so we all went into the bathroom. By the time it was over, we came out and realized we were so fortunate — we’re blessed.”

Scott Spears, the Lauderdale Emergency Management Agency director, could not be reached Sunday morning.

Lauderdale County Chief Deputy, Ward Calhoun, reported no serious injuries Sunday morning, adding that a majority of the storm damage had been confined to Lockhart Trailer Court Road, just off of Fred Clayton Road, and Green Loop Road. 

On Sunday morning, the National Weather Service said they had received reports from emergency management in Lauderdale County but hadn’t yet determined their response or classified the storm.

The survey team would first be dispatched to Hattiesburg, where four died during a tornado Friday night. Because of staffing constraints, the NWS might not be able to survey damage in Lauderdale County until Monday. 

 Meridian Star reporter Whitney Downard contributed to this report. Please check back for updates.