Emergency management officials, utility companies and schools are keeping a close eye on the forecast as the Golden Triangle braces for severe weather.
The National Weather Service in Jackson has placed the Golden Triangle under a winter storm watch for today through Monday, with a combination of freezing rain, sleet and snow that could cause power outages and hazardous road conditions.
The worst of the storm is projected to arrive Monday evening, with a forecast of freezing rain and low temperature of 13 degrees, conditions that could extend well into Tuesday. Another possible storm could arrive Thursday with chances for snow, freezing rain on sleet and at low temperature of 22.
Lowndes County Emergency Management Director Cindy Lawrence said the county has already been exposed to the dangers of a winter storm.
“(Saturday) morning, we had about 50 car crashes near Crawford, mostly on the 45 (Alternate) overpass,” Lawrence said. “They were mostly fender-benders and no injuries, but it’s a reminder of how dangerous driving can be during these winter storms.”
Utility companies are getting ready for potential outages.
“Right now, we’re making sure all of our equipment is in order and ready to go,” said Starkville Utilities Department General Manager Terry Kemp. “The main thing we’ve been doing up this point is our scheduling. We’ve increased our stand-by crews so that we’ll have the crews ready to go as soon as we get outage reports.”
In Lowndes County, both the Columbus and county schools won’t have to worry about school Monday. They are out for Presidents Day.
“We’re probably going to make a decision about school on Tuesday sometime Monday, when we’ve got a better idea of the conditions,” Lowndes County School District Superintendent Sam Allison said. “We’re prepared to go to all virtual classes for Tuesday and Wednesday depending on the situation.”
Because of the hybrid schedule at Columbus Municipal School District, only half of the students attend classes on Mondays and Tuesdays, so the impact will be mitigated, CMSD superintendent Cherie Labat said.
“Since we already have Monday off, we’ll continue to monitor the situation,” she said. “We can go all-virtual on Tuesday if we need to. We’ll probably make that decision Sunday night or Monday morning.”
The Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District are not closed for the Monday holiday, so it will have all virtual classes on Monday and Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Robinson Real Estate, one of the largest rental home management companies in Lowndes County, issued a notice to its tenants, reminding them to cover all outdoor faucets and leave indoor faucets dripping during extended periods when the temperature remains below freezing.
Lawrence said the time to prepare for the storm is now.
“In addition to covering your pipes and leaving water dripping inside, people should be very careful if they are using space heaters,” Lawrence said. “… When you leave the room, turn it off. And don’t use extension cords that aren’t rated safe for using space heaters. Every time we have this really cold weather, we have house fires related to space heaters. They can be very dangerous.”
Lawrence urged residents to be sure to have ready-to-eat food, warm clothing and blankets ready and to check on elderly neighbors to make sure they are prepared in the event of power outages.
The Sunday-Monday winter storm is part of a nationwide storm that is expected to impact 190 million people in the U.S. more than half of the population, according to the National Weather Service.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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