Hurricane Nate Downgraded: Mississippi Residents Assessing Damage

JACKSON, MS. – What was Hurricane Nate is now a tropical depression and Mississippi is exhaling as people around the state assess the damage left as the storm moved across the state. No deaths have been reported but tens of thousands were left without power, trees were felled, and power lines knocked down.

The storm made its Mississippi landfall around 12:30 Sunday morning in east Gulfport. It was a Category 1 hurricane with winds of about 85 miles per hour.

Landfall followed more than eight hours after heavy rain pouring down on the Gulf Coast. Combined with heavy winds, the rain helped knocked out power to around 25,000 customers in the state's six southernmost counties.

Governor Bryant had declared a state of emergency for those counties on Friday, allowing for the deployment of the National Guard. (Sign up for newsletters and real-time news alerts from Jackson Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

After making landfall, the storm moved north through the state and is now headed through the deep south.

Back in Jackson County, emergency officials were assessing the damage on Sunday morning, finding flooding on many streets with more expected as the storm surge moves in.

The good news, officials said, is that it wasn't nearly as bad as they had feared.

Flash flood and tornado warnings were canceled around 4 a.m. on Sunday.

Emergency shelters that had opened on Saturday are expected to be closed by Sunday afternoon.

The forecast says more showers are likely along the coast through the day with a high around 84.

Workers clear trees from power lines in Biloxi, Miss., in the aftermath of Hurricane Nate, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)