Hail in Mississippi, March 5, 1998

A severe thunderstorm developed in the southwest part of Greene county near McLain and moved east across the county. The storm moved just north of State Highway 57 before dissipating east of Leakesville. The thunderstorm dropped dime to golfball size hail along its track from McLain to Leakesville. There was baseball size hail reported near the prison. The swath of damage was about five miles wide. Pine needles and leaves were stripped from trees (it looked like someone had put the leaves in a blender and thrown them on the ground). The most severe damage was around the city of Leakesville. Hail depth was six to twelve inches throughout the city. The elementary school in Leakesville reported hail drifts to the bottom of the school;s windows. Drifts were still visible the next day along the shady sides of buildings. Persons who observed the hail said it was flat on the bottom and oval across the top with jagged edges. Almost every vehicle, that was outside during the hail, suffered damage. Many homes had paint and siding chipped by the hail. People who had screened porches facing south and west had the screens ripped apart by the hail. The area where the baseball hail was observed was not heavily populated. Residents in this area who had homes with tin roofs or who lived in mobile homes had very visible dings in them. Several vehicles had their windshields broken. Many windows that were facing south and west were broken by the large hail. This was the largest hail event across the county since the National Weather Service started keeping severe weather records in 1950.