Winter storm blankets the state with snow, freezing sleet and rain

Meteorologist Nicholas Fenner with the National Weather Service in Jackson, says temperatures in many areas are below freezing.  “We’ve received reports of as much as a 1½ inches of sleet accumulating in some areas, some patches of freezing rain, even a bit of lightning mixing in with some this morning.” said Fenner.

Fenner says the mix of freezing precipitation can cause outages; and trees and limbs could topple making roads dangerous to travel.  Jason Smith, Deputy Director of Mississippi Department of Transportation says crews are treating bridges, putting down salt and slag.  He says they are trying to keep large roads and highways passable.

“We have seen temperature get above freezing for the most part and now we’ve got another round of sleet and precipitation coming down on already icy roads.”  

Smith adds interstates and larger highways have seen some traffic so the outside lanes of most of them are passable. He warns smaller two lane roads are going to be icy with more sleet and snow possibly on the way.  He says it’s better not to take chances, and don’t drive.  

“If you have to travel, drive slowly and keep a large distance between you and the vehicle in front of you including tractor trailers.  Have some water, snacks and a blanket on hand.”   If there is an accident or someone gets stuck, Smith explains it could take hours to clear the road while you’re waiting.

Temperatures are expected to drop down into the single digits, according to Fenner.  He says that will cause ice that may have softened after being treated by MDOT crews to refreeze making roads slick.  He says southeastern parts of Mississippi will see temperatures drop into the teens tonight. 

“We have temperatures forecast to be about 15 degrees even down to the coast tonight. Even just a little bit of wind on top of that and we are going to wind chills ranging from maybe as low as -5 to -10 in the northwest, even down to 5 degrees in southeastern parts of the state.”

Fenner says anybody outdoors tonight may increase their risk of hypothermia and frostbite; that includes pets.  The meteorologist says we may see a break in the clouds by tonight which would allow for a little bit of sun tomorrow.  “That may bring the temperature up to the 30’s in southeastern parts of the state.  But most of the state won’t get above freezing Tuesday, with a high in the 20’s in the Delta.”

Fenner says by Wednesday temperatures may warm up a little more. To keep up to date on the latest road alerts county by county from MDOT click on this link: https://www.mdottraffic.com/default.aspx?showMain=true