Winter Storm Causes Major Impacts in Mississippi
PEARL – The State Emergency Operations Center has received reports of close to nine inches of snow in some parts of the state causing major travel problems and significant power outages. Estimated snow totals being reported to the National Weather Service include:
Houston (Chickasaw) 9 inches
Tupelo (Lee) 8 inches
Tremont (Itawamba) 7.5 inches
Grenada (Grenada) 6 inches
Calhoun City (Calhoun) 6 inches
Columbus (Lowndes) 6 inches
The Mississippi Department of Transportation and Department of Public Safety are asking citizens to stay off the roads where ice and snow have accumulated unless it is an emergency.
There are several curfews that have been put in place by local law enforcement because of dangerous conditions:
Lee Co., Calhoun Co., and city of Tupelo until 5 a.m.
Cities of Okolona and Houston until 6 a.m.
Red Cross Shelter opening:
Lewis Johnson Senior Citizen Complex, 299 MLK Jr. Blvd. in Grenada. (Estimated to open at 11 p.m. by the Mississippi Department of Human Services)
Warming Centers open:
Parkway Church, 200 5th Ave. in Houston
Okolona First Baptist Church, 201 Main St. in Okolona.
Salvation Army Center in Greenville.
As of 8:30 p.m. there are more than 36,000 power outages being reported:
Delta EPA
Carroll County 2,500
Montgomery County 2,500
Monroe County EPA
Monroe County 8,000
4-County EPA
Clay County 1,500
Choctaw County 1,500
Natchez Trace EPA
Chickasaw County 2,800
Webster County 2,000
Calhoun County 3,000
Tombigbee EPA
Lee County 1,831
Itawamba County 1,063
Tallahatchie Valley EPA
Tallahatchie County 1,770Grenada County 150 Panola County 20 Yalobusha County 1,695
Entergy has a total of 6,728
The largest being:
Grenada Co. 3,581
Montgomery Co. 1,445
Carroll Co. 463
Webster Co. 319
Leflore Co. 226
Tallahatchie Co. 193
Yalobusha Co. 159
There are numerous school districts closing or delaying opening on Thursday in north and central Mississippi. Please check with your local districts for the status in your area.
Gov. Phil Bryant will make a decision on the opening of state offices early Thursday morning based on road conditions.
The State Emergency Operations Center remains activated responding to any requests for assistance from local governments.
For up-to-date roadway information, go to www.mdottraffic.com or dial 5-1-1.
For detailed preparedness information, go to MEMA’s website at www.msema.org. The best way to get up-to-date information is to “Like” MEMA on Facebook, or “Follow” us on twitter.
