Southern states see below-freezing temperatures

A blast of cold air drove temperatures below freezing in many southern states.

In Atlanta, the chilly weather system brought temperatures down to the mid-20s early Tuesday, prompting city officials to open a warming shelter.

In the north Georgia mountains, the temperatures were even chillier: A U.S. Forest Service weather station near Brasstown Bald, the state’s highest peak, recorded a low temperature of 16 degrees early Tuesday morning.

In Alabama, Auburn was among the coldest spots in the state early

Tuesday with a low temperature of 22 degrees just before dawn. The National Weather Service says it was 23 degrees in Birmingham and 24 in Huntsville as the sun was coming up. Below-freezing weather early Tuesday stretched all the way to Mobile, where the mercury dipped to 31 degrees.

In Mississippi, multiple shelters were opened in the capital city of Jackson, WJTV-TV reported.

A freeze warning Tuesday morning covered large parts of southern Mississippi and southeast Louisiana, where sub-freezing temperatures were common. The National

Weather Service warned residents in those areas to take steps to prevent pipes from freezing such as wrapping them or allowing faucets to drip slowly.

A similar freeze warning was in place for parts of southeast Georgia and northern Florida early Tuesday.

On Wednesday, a light mix of wintry precipitation — including snow, sleet and rain — will be possible in southeast Oklahoma and western Arkansas, according to the National Weather Service in Shreveport, Louisiana. That should happen from early this morning through noon today, forecasters said.