Tornado Strikes Mississippi; Injuries Reported

The National Weather Service says a tornado has touched down in west-central Mississippi, damaging several buildings.

Mark McAllister, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Jackson, says the tornado hit Saturday afternoon in Valley Park, Yazoo City and Durant.

Mississippi Emergency Management Agency spokesman Greg Flynn says officials in Warren, Yazoo and Holmes counties were conducting a "massive response." He did not immediately have information on injuries, but said the damage is extensive.

Jim Pollard, public affairs manager for American Medical Response ambulance service, says the company dispatched 11 ambulances to Yazoo City.

Most of Mississippi was under tornado watches and warnings Saturday as severe weather swept across the South.

National Weather Service; The Weather Channel; AP.