A powerful bolt of lightning struck a home in north Lafayette County during a late-night storm on Sunday, May 25, shaking neighborhoods across the region and drawing widespread attention both in-person and online.

The incident occurred around 9 p.m. at the residence of Rod Storrs Sr., located at 714 County Road 101.

Witnesses reported a blinding flash of light followed by an extended, ground-shaking rumble of thunder that lasted approximately 30 seconds. From Brittany Woods off University Avenue to as far as Wellsgate and even near Highway 30, residents said they felt the thunder’s pressure in their chests and heard windows rattle in their homes.

Some described the unusual length and intensity of the thunder as unsettling, with a few speculating that an explosion—possibly from the Winchester ammunition plant—had occurred.

At the center of the storm was the home of Rod Storrs Sr., where the lightning struck behind the house and carved a destructive path through the property.

“Everything turned white,” said Rod Storrs Jr., who lives in a separate house but on the same property as his father. “I looked over, and all my dogs were in the air. I looked out the window and saw a ball of light moving through the trees — it was lightning. It hit right behind Dad’s house.”

The lightning strike caused extensive damage. According to Storrs Jr., the electrical surge blew the cover off a spark box some 50 yards from the impact site and destroyed surge protectors inside his own home. But the brunt of the damage was to his father’s house.

“It blew Dad’s panel box completely off the wall,” he said. “All the breakers were ripped out, the back wall of a small shed was blown off, and it shattered some windows. There’s even a huge crater out in the field.”

The damage followed a visible path through the property.

“It traveled underground, hit the back of the house, and followed into the well system,” he added. “There’s even a mark in the grass where it passed.”

Rod Storrs Sr., a retired U.S. Army pilot with two tours in Vietnam, described the moment of impact as a violent explosion.

“There was a tremendous explosion,” he said. “Two windows blew out, glass flew across the room. I had a cabinet with 50 or 60 pieces of Waterford Crystal I’d collected since the 1960s — all destroyed.”

Storrs Sr. recalled feeling a sudden change in pressure inside the house, comparing it to the sensation of a depressurizing aircraft. The lightning, he said, struck the east wall of his home, buckled a wall, damaged the ceiling and destroyed the fuse box.

“It hit the air conditioning unit outside and crushed it,” he said. “One metal door was blown off its hinges, flew across the room, and ended up ten feet away. The smoke detectors went off, and there was dust and haze everywhere. The house shook.”

The lightning also destroyed a well pump system, lifting it from the ground.

Both father and son praised the response from North East Mississippi Electric Power Association.

“North East did a fantastic job,” said Storrs Jr. “They were out here most of the night making sure everything was secure and getting power restored.”

While no injuries were reported, the sheer scale of the damage and the intensity of the lightning bolt have made this a memorable event for the Storrs family and the broader Lafayette County community.