JACKSON - The coldest temperatures of the year has Mississippians trying to stay warm and the weather service posting hard freeze warnings across the state.
The chances for a white Christmas or a few white days before Christmas are not too likely for Greenwood.
There is a chance that Greenwood could receive some freezing rain, sleet and snow, but there should be no accumulation, forecasters predict.
"Tonight, as the clouds increase precipitation will be likely. It may start off as a freezing rain and a sleet mix first and then change into rain," said Chris Jakub, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson.
Today, temperatures might reach the 40 degree mark. "The snow and other precipitation may make its appearance early Thursday morning. But, there will be no major accumulation," Jakub said.
A scattering of snow flurries were reported Tuesday morning in Jackson and several areas to the south.
In some northern areas, cold ground temperatures allowed a powdering of snow before sunshine chased the clouds away.
"The snow was really coming down good here this morning," said Kathy Sherrill, a dispatcher with the Webster County Sheriff's Department. "It covered the roads and out in the country where I live it covered just about everything."
Sherrill said the snow covering lasted for less than two hours, but "it was pretty while it was here."
Hard freeze warnings were posted for Tuesday night as far south as coastal counties, with temperatures expected to hover in the teens to low 20s. Highs Tuesday were at or below freezing, and wind chills tumbled to zero or below readings in many areas.
"Right now, we're looking at wind chills of minus-1 or minus-2 in the Jackson area," Priscilla Bridenstine, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Jackson, said Tuesday afternoon. "This is obviously the coldest weather we've had to date."
Tuesday's shot of bitter cold weather came after a round of sleet and freezing rain in some northern counties Monday.
In DeSoto County, Deputy Fire Marshal Mike Hancock said county authorities had responded to about 30 accidents. And Southaven Police Chief Tom Long said his officers handled about a dozen mishaps, many on Interstate 55.
In usually moderate south Mississippi, utilities scrambled to meet increased power demands.
Mississippi Power Co. and Reliant Energy Entex gas company both said they began noting an increase in heating use on the coast Monday evening, after temperatures started plunging to the lower 30s.
The power draw was expected to peak with Tuesday night's low readings. "This year, we have experienced about 50 percent more cold weather than we had last year," said Mike Foley, district manager at Reliant Energy Entex in Gulfport. "This year it's cold, gas costs are up anyway, and people are worried."
