Mississippi Remains Under Hard Freeze Warning

Mississippi remains under a hard freeze warning with overnight temperatures in the low teens. MPB’s Sandra Knispel reports from Oxford.

Arctic cold air is pushing south towards the Gulf of Mexico, with highs in the mid 30s. Mark McAllister is a forecaster at the National Weather Service in Jackson.

“It hasn’t be this cold since probably 2003, but we do get every once in a while during the winter time these cold shots coming out of the arctic air,” said McAllister.

At a time when funds are low and demand rising, local homeless shelters are experiencing an additional influx. In Tupelo, the Salvation Army has opened its community center to house up to an additional 100 to 120 people on top of the regularly two dozen in its shelter. The cold is compounding the effects of the recession says social director Susan Gilbert.

“Usually we empty out a little bit around Christmas and go a week or so where we don’t have quite as many and this year we stayed steadily full,” says Gilbert. “We’re having more people that are new to the homeless. The ones we’re seeing now have just lost their jobs. And they were living pay check to paycheck and just have nowhere to go.”

Check on the elderly, wrap your pipes, and make sure your outside pets are ok. That’s the advice from the national weather service.

Sandra Knispel, Oxford.