Two rounds of severe weather are expected for the area on Thursday and those living in the Golden Triangle are asked to be weather-aware as the systems move through.
Oktibbeha County Emergency Management Director Shank Phelps said the first round of storms, which is expected to produced hail, damaging winds and possibly tornadoes, is expected in the early morning hours, while the second round is expected midday into the early evening.
“However the second round looks as though it is going increase from a slight to moderate risk for our area. This higher risks include the chances for a wide spread event that can produce damaging winds up to 80+ mph, large hail (golf ball) and some strong tornadoes,” Phelps said.
Phelps then said the timing on the second round could impact school bus routes/travel as emergency officials are expecting to start seeing the severity of the storm begin around 3 p.m.
“We will continue to watch these storms and will send you any updates as we receive them,” he said.
Sunday and Monday will also see a chance for severe storms, but Phelps said it is too early to narrow down the timing.
Phelps also encouraged people in the area to sign up for CodeRED to receive messages for their area. The service is free to everyone living in Oktibbeha County and is based off addresses.
Those using CodeRED will only receive notifications if the warning is for their address. To sign up, visit the Okitbbeha County website.