Residents remember Caledonia tornado 12 years later

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- Friday marks the 12th anniversary of the EF-3 tornado that tore through the town of Caledonia.

Caledonia School saw the most damage, losing several buildings and school buses.

Community members in Caledonia are remembering how far they’ve come since the tornado struck their town.

On January 10th, 2008, Brandon Edmondson was just a kindergartner at Caledonia Elementary School.

“I was in Mrs. Shannon Ingram’s class. I knew there was supposed to be bad weather that day. I just remember sirens started going off and they called us into the hallways,” said Edmondson.

“We knew it was coming for us, that’s when we kind of hunkered down. The electricity went off, everyone got in their position and it just went black,” said teacher Rebecca Studdard.

An EF-3 tornado hit Caledonia School, damaging and destroying several buildings in it’s path.

“Glass out of all the car windows, there was a bus on top of a building, there was just so much damage,” said Studdard.

“I remember going past houses where there are now, but there were no houses over there and it was gone. I just remember seeing a bunch of debris everywhere,” said Edmondson.

Margaret Davis says panic spread through her body because she didn’t know if her children were safe.

“It was a-lot of fear. I felt like if anything I’d rather it take my house rather than them. It was very hard for me as a parent to get to know and find out what would happen if they let the children out,” said Davis.

12 years later there are new buildings, new facilities, and a new approach when severe weather threatens.

Residents here are more cautious and prepared.

“I am very aware now because when storms come around I get very kind of scared. Is my home going to be blown away is it going to be where I can tell my children we need to do this,” said Davis.

“Whenever bad weather is coming through we all watch it together. Nobody is in their own rooms, we’re kind of all together so we can always get up and go when we need to,” said Edmondson.

With severe weather expected this weekend, now is a good time to review your family’s emergency action plan.