Second wave of icy weather hits Starkville

Late Sunday night heading into Monday, a winter storm system moved into Mississippi that crippled much of the state, shutting down COVID-19 vaccination sites, resulting in road closures and hundreds of traffic accidents and thousands of residents without power.

A second storm system hit the state Wednesday afternoon and carried over into this morning which brought in additional snow, freezing rain and ice to a Mississippi that is already struggling to deal with the remnants of the first storm.

The second wave of icy weather is expected to put an additional strain on the already-frozen roads and could lead to more power outages.

“We’re not out of the woods yet, we’ll continue to have issues,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Alan Campbell said.

Here in Starkville, most if not all businesses remain closed due to the icy roadways and the Starkville Police Department is continuing to urge citizens to not drive on the roads unless it is absolutely necessary.

If you are curious about which roads in town are safe to travel in these conditions, the Oktibbeha County Emergency Operation Center said the short answer is none of them.

As of Wednesday, Starkville Utilities plans to return to their normal operations at 10 a.m. today to remain constant in its mission of meeting the needs of its customers in these icy circumstances. For emergency assistance from Starkville Utilities, call 662-323-3133.

As for the city offices, they look to open up at noon with today’s trash pickup still planned for its route.

Although these are the plans, the weather will still be monitored, and plans will be adjusted as necessary.

Campbell, the National Weather Service meteorologist, said while the second system will continue to be an issue, the weather will gradually warm up to temperatures above freezing heading into this weekend and into next week.

“This will gradually begin to fall out. It will still be cold, but the good news is we’ll see highs above freezing going into the weekend,” Campbell said.

Mississippi Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley announced on Twitter Tuesday night there were several power outages avoided that would have been awful thanks to Mississippi residents conserving their usage.

“Thank you. Because of your help in reducing electric usage and other operational factors, electric outages that could have been awful were avoided tonight in large measure. The electric grid has faced severe strain for lots of reasons, but mainly the winter storm,” said Presley. “What we worried would be a series of forced outages past midnight ended at 9 o’clock. Thank you for helping your fellow Mississippians.”

In below freezing temperatures like this, it is advised to leave your sink faucets dripping overnight to ensure your water pipes will not freeze solid, keep plenty of warm blankets nearby and to stay off the roads unless it is an emergency.