The type of snow we enjoyed a week ago caught just about everyone off guard. Rarely in Mississippi is there snow up to a half foot deep.

In Warren County, the amount of snow fluctuated from an inch up to four inches in some areas.

Fortunately, road conditions were not as hazardous as they could have been, which resulted in hardly any reported accidents. With the roads all clear, it was the main reason why school officials did not cancel classes.

“We didn’t expect it, but we’re lucky it wasn’t more than it was,” Warren County Emergency Management Director John Elfer said. “We had no reports of problems.”

Most of the severe snowfall, he said, was south and east of Warren County.

After receiving the all clear from Warren County Emergency Management that the roads were safe, the Vicksburg Warren School District and Vicksburg Catholic schools made the call to operate as normal Friday despite the winter weather that rolled in overnight.

“Our buses roll out at 5:30 a.m. so any decisions we make for delayed start or not to start school all is made around 5 a.m.,” superintendent Chad Shealy said. “We talked to John Elfer and the sheriff’s department and all our decisions are made on the road not necessarily what’s on the ground. All the roads were clear and emergency management made the decision that everything looks safe.”

St. Aloysius principal Bubby Strickland said they notified parents that schools would be open, but gave parents the option of determining if the felt it was safe for their students to travel. Porter’s Chapel was the only school closed on Friday.

The snow was beautiful and rare and we thank all of you who shared your photos with us so that we could publish a few of them in the print edition and dozens on our website.

Mostly, we are thankful there were no major wrecks reported.