Ice threat shutters most schools Freezing rain in forecast for Friday

Published 11:30 am Thursday, February 3, 2011

As ice moved into Warren County at midmorning today, students at public schools across the county and at Porters Chapel Academy were dismissed and city and county road crews were ready to spread sand to keep vehicles from sliding.

By 9:30 a.m., ice was reported to be accumulating on bridges on U.S. 61 South near Glass Road and on Wisconsin Avenue over Interstate 20.

Meteorologist Daniel Lamb of the National Weather Service’s Jackson office said a mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow was moving into the area and was expected to continue into Friday.

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Up to four-tenths of an inch of ice was forecast to accumulate in Vicksburg and Warren County tonight, with lows around 24 degrees. The Friday forecast called for freezing rain during the afternoon and a 20 percent chance of snow before 11 p.m. but with little snow accumulation.

The temperature at midmorning today was 26 degrees.

Light snow flurries were reported at 7 this morning in Bovina and, later in the morning, ice had begun to accumulate in Claiborne County.

The threat of slushy conditions today forced all public schools to close by 11:45 a.m.

Vicksburg Warren School District Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Duran Swinford said a decision on whether schools will open Friday will be made early Friday morning.

“We haven’t made a decision on tomorrow,” Swinford said. “We had some weather indications this morning and we needed to err on the side of caution.”

Vicksburg Catholic School and Hinds Community College Vicksburg campus did not dismiss students early.

Sand and stone were at the ready to spread on bridges and overpasses countywide if conditions warranted, officials said.

“We’ll stop and go to storm mode if need be,” Warren County Road Manager Richard Winans said.

Vicksburg Public Works Director Bubba Rainer said interstate flyovers at Indiana and Wisconsin avenues are likeliest to ice over during “wintry mix” weather. Sand trucks were “geared and ready to go” to assist the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

“They certainly don’t mind us helping,” Rainer said.

The ice and sleet were part of a storm system moving northeast from the Gulf of Mexico near south Louisiana.

Conditions there forced the closure of several Interstate 10 overpasses between Baton Rouge and Gonzales for a few hours this morning.

Otherwise, Louisiana police said major highways were clear. The Sunshine Bridge over the Mississippi River in Ascension Parish was closed for a time, but reopened in time for rush hour.