Winter will arrive with a bang Thursday with dangerously cold temperatures and the chance for snowfall.
“The [National Weather Service] is sure about one thing,” said Tipton County Emergency Management Director in a social media post this week. “It is going to be dangerously cold wind chills, and brutally cold temps. However, what they are not confident about at this time is the snowfall amounts, location, or type.”
Tipton County and much of the MidSouth is included in a Winter Weather Advisory beginning Thursday afternoon through Friday morning.
There will be a period of rainfall Thursday afternoon, then a cold front will bring wind gusts from 25-45 miles per hour, then the temperatures will drop significantly. Wind chills, they said, could drop as much as 40 degrees in a matter of hours.
For Tipton County, officials are expecting the wind chill to go from 34 degrees Thursday evening to -17 degrees by 5 a.m., Friday.
“Depending on your location, impacts will vary from flash freezes to snow accumulations up to an inch,” the agency said.
If there is snowfall in Tipton County, it’s not expected to accumulate. The major issues with this storm are the dangerously low temperatures, the hazards of black ice, and high winds which could take out power and trees.
Residents are being encouraged to cover outdoor faucets and crawlspace openings, open cabinet doors to expose pipes to heat, and drip faucets so they do not freeze and burst.
Additionally, extreme caution is urged when heating homes with space heaters and fireplaces and lettings pets outside.
Author: Echo Day
Echo Day is an award-winning journalist, photographer and designer. She is currently The Leader's managing editor.
