By Brandon O’Connor

A line of potentially severe thunderstorms will be rolling into Vicksburg and Warren County late Friday evening and early Saturday morning. The storm has the potential to produce wind gusts in excess of 60 mph and quarter-sized hail according to the National Weather Service in Jackson. There is also a chance of tornadoes.

John Elfer of Warren County Emergency Management Agency said that this is a “low end threat” with a 10-percent chance of hail and a 30-percent chance of damaging winds, but he recommended that residents take precautions including finding adequate shelter.

“Mobile homes and manufactured homes are not the most ideal places to ride out a storm,” Elfer said. “We recommend that they get to the lowest floor and get to the inside of the structure.”

Elfer and Joanne Culin, a meteorologist with the NWS in Jackson, both also recommended having an audible alert system, especially with the storms coming in at night.

“We always tell people they need to have multiple ways to get warnings, especially when they might be asleep, and to have a way that might wake them up,” Culin said.

To receive alerts, Vicksburg and Warren County residents can sign up for the Code Red alert system offered by emergency management. The system is customizable and residents can decide which types of weather they would like to receive alerts for.  The system will then notify them via call, text and/or email.

“If you want to receive everything, then you will receive severe thunderstorms, tornado warnings, winter storms and flash flood warnings,” Elfer said. “A lot of people just want tornadoes.

The severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings will only call you if you are in the National Weather Service polygon area.”

You can sign up for Code Red alerts by going to Vicksburg.org and clicking on the Code Red icon on the front page. County residents can go to www.co.warren.ms.us.