MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A third round of winter weather blanketed the Mid-South on Wednesday and continues to produce flurries for some of the Mid-South on Thursday.
The entire Mid-South is still under a Winter Storm Warning until Thursday afternoon. The heaviest of the snowfall has passed but there’s still a slight chance for snow flurries this morning.
Our Team 3 Coverage of the winter weather continues Thursday. Our team will post updates that we receive throughout the day right here to keep you updated with the latest information.
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Authorities said dangerous conditions have led to a number of deaths. One boy in Brentwood, Tennessee died after he slammed into a mailbox while out playing in the snow with three other children. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said at least two deaths were reported in Shelby County, including a 10-year-old boy who drowned near Millington, and also three possibly hypothermia-related deaths.
CLOSURE ANNOUNCEMENT: Kroger stores will be closing Thursday at 6 p.m.
WREG’s Stacy Jacobson shared pictures from inside the Union Avenue Kroger at opening time at 8 a.m. Thursday. As imagined the shelves were sparse when it comes to chips, bread, some fresh produce, meats and milk. She said you’ll be able to find supplies and food, but you might have to be flexible.
Rumors have been shared saying gas stations are out of fuel in Tipton County. Tommy Dunavant told WREG that some gas stations are out, but it’s not most or all of the businesses in the area. TEMA said there is no fuel shortage which means there’s probably some issues with deliveries due to the weather. He said there is also a rumor of price gouging at a station in Covington and that has been reported to law enforcement for investigation.
Chief Deputy Justin Smith with the Desoto County Sheriff’s Department said they are having to deal with multiple slide offs and minor wrecks this morning. He said they’ve responded to several incidents where 18-wheelers have slid off the roadways. Secondary streets are dangerous, he said, because you can’t see the lanes or the ditches on either side. Right now, they are trying to respond to everyone, but Smith said you should expect extended response times. Deputies want to keep others safe as well as themselves.
WREG is getting some amazing photos from our WREG viewers of the snow and their family out enjoying it! Be sure to send us your photos at newstips@digital-stage.wreg.com. You may even see them on our website.
The United States Postal Service has suspended operations at Post Offices in Mississippi ZIP codes starting with 386, 387, 388, and 389. Normal operations are being conducted at post offices in ZIP codes starting with 369, 390, 391, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, and 397.
Mara Hartmann with Entergy Mississippi said they did not have to conduct any forced rolling outages overnight due to extreme demand on the power grid. They had asked customers to conserve as much power as possible Wednesday, but didn’t have to take action. At least 3,000 customers in northern Mississippi were without power overnight along with some 80,000 others in the mid-part of the state. Hartmann said the warming trend will help with the demand.
TRAFFIC ALERT: Patches of snow/ice reported athe following locations:
- In both directions on I-55 from Mississippi all the way to Arkansas
- State Route 277 in both directions in Shelby County
- In both directions along I-40 in Shelby County
- State Route 15 in both directions in Shelby County
- State Route 177 in both directions in Shelby County
- State Route 204 in both directions
- State Route 175 in both directions
TDOT is reporting a disabled vehicle on the I-240 southbound ramp at the Norris Road exit (Exit 26). The southbound exit ramp is closed.
In Desoto County, Mississippi, Wendy Nations says the raods are densely packed with snow and there are NO tire tracks to follow along Goodman Road. She has also not seen a snowplow.
Collierville Police said they have had to rescue six people in an hour who had slid off the roadways due to the slick conditions. They asked everyone to stay at home.
WREG’s Quametra Wilborn reported a thick blanket of snow and ice in Blytheville, Arkansas, this morning. Police are encouraging people to stay home unless absolutely necessary as the road conditions have become so bad that drivers are getting stuck.
POWER OUTAGE UPDATE: As of 6 a.m., Entergy Arkansas is reporting 433 customers are in the dark. In Mississippi, that number is 84,000 but that is south of I-82.
If you do need to report an outage, call 1-800-9OUTAGE.
POWER OUTAGE UPDATE: As of 6 a.m., MLGW is reporting only two power outages in the city. With the heavy snow, it’s possible that could change so if you need to report an outage call MLGW’s Electric Outage Hotline at (901) 544-6500.
Trash collection in Memphis, Collierville, Germantown and many other cities across the Mid-South has been postponed due to the weather. Memphis leaders have not decided when it will resume, but other communities hope to have services back up and running next week.
In Tunica, Mississippi, deputies had to help more than 100 people who either got stuck or ran off the roadways on Wednesday. That was before things had a change to really freeze overnight, so they’re encouraging everyone to stay off the roads.
The city of Blytheville, Arkansas, is suspending trash pickup until further notice. Officials said that attempts to pick up trash earlier this week proved dangerous for the workers as well as other drivers.
The National Weather Service reported 7.2 inches of snow fell in Memphis Wednesday breaking an old record set back in 1979.
WREG’s Quametra Wilborn reported from Blytheville, Arkansas, on Thursday and said road conditions there are the worst she has seen so far. The roads she has traveled along – which includes the highways and side streets – were covered in ice and snow. So, there are extremely dangerous conditions out there.
Overnight, the Blytheville Police Department asked all residents to restrict travel to emergency only. They said the weather conditions have deteriorated the roads so bad that cars were just getting stuck left and right. Continued driving is putting yourself at risk along with those who have to come help you, they said.
If you are out and get involved in an accident, they said it’s best to exchange numbers, insurance information and then take pictures on your phone. Report it to police as soon as you can.
AAA said if you wake up to find your car looking like this, you need to do more than just scrap the windshield. Those who absolutely need to get out need to scrap off their windshield as well as the hood, roof and the trunk of their car before they hit the roadways. Drivers who leave that on their vehicles could cause damage to other cars or possibly cause a wreck when it falls off.
The Desoto County Sheriff’s Department said roads are super slick and they’re urging only those who have to absolutely be on the roads to get out. The roads in the area were already bad before Wednesday’s snowfall and now they’re nearly impassible across northern Mississippi.
Southaven viewer Christopher Woxen reported seven inches of snow in his yard. That’s how much has fallen in the area and how much crews have to get off local roadways.
The snow was so heavy early Thursday morning that an ambulance got stuck in the 1300 block of James Street. A lot of the vehicles on the road this morning are emergency vehicles and we’ve heard numerous reports of police cars and other emergency vehicles getting stuck.