Update: Snow falling, accumulating in central Mississippi with winter storm
After dealing with a ice storm for the last two days, parts of Mississippi prepares for significant accumulations of snow with a quick-moving winter storm.
The National Weather Service (NWS) upgraded a previously issued winter storm watch Wednesday afternoon to a winter storm warning Wednesday evening for much of central Mississippi including the entire Jackson metro area from midnight tonight until 9 a.m. Thursday.
The warning covers the counties of Attala, Carroll, Choctaw, Claiborne, Clarke, Clay, Copiah, Grenada, Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Jasper, Kemper, Lauderdale, Leake, Leflore, Lowndes, Madison, Montgomery, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Rankin, Scott, Sharkey, Simpson, Smith, Warren, Webster, Winston and Yazoo.
Snowfall accumulations of two to four inches are possible within the watch area, mainly on grassy and elevated surfaces.
"An upper low tracking across the area tonight will produce colder conditions aloft bring this chance of snow to the outlook area. Periods of heavy snow will be likely with the heaviest snow falling between 3 a.m. and 8 a.m., " the NWS said.
NWS said the heavy snow will make for dangerous travel conditions on area roads Thursday morning with some bridges and overpasses likely becoming snow-covered.
"This winter storm will highly impact the morning commute in the Jackson metro area," the NWS said.
Outside of the winter storm watch area, a winter weather advisory has been issued for more minor accumulations of one inch or less with isolated locations possibly getting higher amounts up to two inches.
This advisory covers the counties of Calhoun, Chickasaw, Covington, Franklin, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Lawrence, Lincoln, Monroe, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Washington and Yalobusha.
This follows a significant ice storm that coated much of the Delta and northwestern Mississippi in a quarter to an half-inch of ice from Monday into Tuesday.
More than half of the state's counties remain under a state of emergency, declared on Monday.
This is a developing situation and everyone should stay updated on the latest weather information as it becomes available.
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