Icy roads, cold weather here to stay
Jan. 16—TUPELO — The winter precipitation may be out of the immediate forecast, but the sleet and ice on roads and houses will hang around for some time.
Not only are authorities asking people to remain home and off slick roads, but they are also asking people to turn down their thermostats a notch or two.
The Tennessee Valley Authority is asking to conserve electricity as the temperatures Wednesday morning drop to near 0 and the region is expected to set an all-time record for power demand.
Most of the highways, roads and streets throughout Northeast Mississippi have a coating of sleet or snow. But under that topcoat, the road surface's residual heat has melted the initial precipitation. That water refroze during the night, leaving a sheet of ice. Because of that, many road crews have made the decision to not use snowplows to clear the roads.
In Lafayette County, authorities determined that plowing the roads at this time would pose significant risks.
"The initial layer of sleet that fell before the snow has created a hazardous situation, and removing the snow layer may exacerbate the existing icy conditions," the Lafayette County Emergency Management announced late Monday evening.
Further south, Starkville and the Golden Triangle dodged the bulk of the sleet and snow Monday. Instead, they had rain and freezing rain as the storm passed through. Starkville Police Department spokesman Sgt. Brandon Lovelady said road conditions there are very icy.
The impact of this winter storm is being felt all across the state. The Mississippi Department of Transportation said Tuesday morning that 75 of the states' 82 counties were reporting ice on roads and bridges. Unaffected counties lie south of Hattiesburg, but Hancock and Harrison counties on the gulf coast do have ice.
How long the ice sticks around will depend entirely on Mother Nature. The forecast for Tupelo only has temperatures topping the freezing point for about three sunny hours on Wednesday afternoon. The best chance for a thaw will be Thursday when the high is expected to top 40 degrees. The temperatures could be above freezing for 18 hours Thursday and into Friday morning. During the warmest times Thursday afternoon, the forecast calls for five hours of rain that could help melt the ice and sleet.
After that brief warm spell, the temperatures will again drop below freezing util Sunday.
Power outages a risk
With most people across the region hunkered down at home trying to stay warm, TVA is expecting the demand for power to continue to increase. They are asking people to conserve where they can and still stay warm. They suggest turning the thermostat down to 68 degrees, closing curtains and blinds to block out the cold, turning off unneeded lights and reducing the use of nonessential appliances.
By lunchtime Tuesday, the website poweroutage.us showed only 60 customers without power across the Journal's 16-county coverage area. The biggest outages were in Lee and Oktibbeha counties — with 58 and 17 households, respectively — without power.
In Lee County, the Salvation Army at 527 Carnation Street in Tupelo opened their gymnasium as a cold weather shelter for those unhoused community members needing a place to stay last weekend. They serve a warm meal at 4 p.m. to get people in place for check-in from 4:30p.m. until 8 p.m. People must arrive before 8 p.m. to receive a cot.
In Oktibbeha County, the Starkville First Baptist Warehouse at 210 Jackson Street has opened as a warming station. People are asked to bring their own pillows and blankets, hygiene products and extra clothes. Pets are not allowed, but they can be temporarily boarded at the Oktibbeha County Humane Society.
