Golden Triangle schools and businesses ground to a halt again today as up to four inches of snow blanketed the area late Wednesday and early this morning, followed by a hard freeze that coated some roads and bridges with patches of ice.
Lowndes County Emergency Management Director Cindy Lawrence said the winter storm was mild compared to the one last week.
Roads remained relatively clear, and the Mississippi Department of Transportation put a second sheet of sand on bridges at about 4 a.m. today. Also, only seven wrecks were reported Wednesday from 3 p.m. to midnight, contrasted to the 58 in Lowndes County this past Thursday and early Friday.
Still, Lawrence continued, drivers should be cautious if they venture out today.
“People just need to be very careful driving on the highways,” she added.
With wind chill taken into account, temperatures plunged into the teens and single digits in the early morning hours across the area, and weren”t expected to rise above freezing until late afternoon.
Temperatures were expected to drop into the teens again tonight, with a high on Friday of 46 degrees. The National Weather Service warned that roads and bridges that thawed out during the day could freeze again tonight, and warned against travel unless it was necessary.
A hard freeze warning for north Mississippi remains in effect until 11 a.m. Friday, the weather service said. Officials warned residents to insulate exposed pipes and check to make sure elderly residents had adequate heat.
Public and private schools in Lowndes, Clay and Oktibbeha Counties announced closures. Mississippi University for Women closed all day Thursday, as did East Mississippi Community College. Mississippi State University which had originally planned to delay classes until this afternoon, later in the morning decided to stay closed all day, and make a decision about Friday”s schedule by 5 a.m. City, county and state offices also either decided to remain closed or open in the afternoon.
”Very quiet” on roads
In Starkville and Oktibbeha County, local drivers appeared to have learned their lesson from last week.
According to Oktibbeha County E-911, only seven accidents were reported in Starkville and Oktibbeha County. In most of the incidents, vehicles slid into ditches or into trees. No serious injuries were reported.
“It was very quiet,” Oktibbeha County Fire Services Coordinator Kirk Rosenhan said.
At about 4 a.m., a vehicle went off an overpass at Highway 15 and Highway 82, just east of Mathiston, Rosenhan said. The occupants received minor injuries, he said. Attempts to gather more information from the Mississippi Highway Patrol were unsuccessful.
“Other than that, it has been quiet as a church mouse,” Rosenhan said. “We”ve been very careful to make sure our (emergency responders) have full gas tanks and don”t drive too fast.”
When sleet and freezing rain fell on Starkville Feb. 3, bridges and overpasses on Highway 82 froze and several vehicles slid off the road in Oktibbeha and Lowndes counties. Traffic was backed up for miles Feb. 3 when Highway 82 was closed for 90 minutes at Highway 182 in Clayton Village. No such backups were reported Wednesday night.
Government offices
Gov. Haley Barbour said state offices would open at noon today as a precaution against possible icy conditions.
Barbour on Wednesday said those offices located along and north of U.S. 84 to the Mississippi-Tennessee state line are affected. He said he”s given agency heads the discretion to determine whether key personnel should report before then and, if so, to notify them accordingly.
The Mississippi Department of Transportation said ice and snow started accumulating by Wednesday afternoon in nearly three dozen counties.
“We”ve already had reports of numerous accidents so it”s already causing some problems on the roadways,” said Latrice Maxie, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson. “There could be some slush developing on the road ways, especially in less-traveled areas, and the temperatures falling overnight could cause some slick spots on bridges and raised areas.”
Snowfall was heavier north of the Golden Triangle. Up to 6 inches of snow fell in parts of the Delta and farther north in Mississippi.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said the snow could cause travel problems with roads, bridges and overpasses becoming slick and dangerous.
“It is recommended that if you do not have to be on the roads in the snowy areas tonight to please stay home,” MEMA said in a release.
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