Mississippi, 2017

Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Mississippi, December 7 to 9, 2017

December 7 to 9, 2017 · NWS LIX · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

Low Pressure over the Gulf of Mexico drove moisture over a very cold airmass to aid in the development of a band of heavy snow across portions of southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi. Numerous reports of 2 to 5 inches of snow was reported.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
8

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS LIX wrote it up.

Low Pressure over the Gulf of Mexico drove moisture over a very cold airmass to aid in the development of a band of heavy snow across portions of southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi. Numerous reports of 2 to 5 inches of snow was reported. Isolated areas of up to 8 inches of snow occurred over portions of southwest Mississippi, and up to 7 inches in small portion of southeast Louisiana near the Mississippi state line. In the areas from just west and southwest of the metro New Orleans area to the Mississippi Coast, generally snow amounts were around an inch to trace. Temperatures were generally around freezing in the areas experiencing snow. However, snow rates were intense enough to result in accumulations. Snow melt and residual water on elevated roadways and bridges froze Friday evening, December 8th, with many roadways becoming slick and some highways closed until mid morning on Saturday, December 9th.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS New Orleans, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 7, 7:45 PM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 7, 7:45 PM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 7, 5:39 PM CST, 3 hours 21 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service New Orleans LA
539 PM CST Thu Dec 7 2017

GMZ530-532-534-536-538-550-552-555-557-570-572-575-577-LAZ034>037-
039-040-046>050-056>072-MSZ068>071-077-080>082-081145-
Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas-Mississippi Sound-
Lake Borgne-Chandeleur Sound-Breton Sound-
Coastal Waters from Port Fourchon LA to Lower Atchafalaya River
LA out 20 nm-
Coastal waters from the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River
to Port Fourchon Louisiana out 20 NM-
Coastal Waters from Boothville LA to Southwest Pass of the
Mississippi River out 20 nm-
Coastal waters from Pascagoula Mississippi to Stake Island out
20 NM-
Coastal waters from Port Fourchon Louisiana to Lower Atchafalaya
River LA from 20 to 60 NM-
Coastal waters from Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River to
Port Fourchon Louisiana from 20 to 60 NM-
Coastal Waters from Stake Island LA to Southwest Pass of the
Mississippi River from 20 to 60 nm-
Coastal waters from Pascagoula Mississippi to Stake Island
Louisiana out 20 to 60 NM-Pointe Coupee-West Feliciana-
East Feliciana-St. Helena-Washington-St. Tammany-Iberville-
West Baton Rouge-East Baton Rouge-Ascension-Livingston-Assumption-
St. James-St. John The Baptist-Upper Lafourche-St. Charles-
Upper Jefferson-Orleans-Upper Plaquemines-Upper St. Bernard-
Upper Terrebonne-Lower Terrebonne-Lower Lafourche-Lower Jefferson-
Lower Plaquemines-Lower St. Bernard-Northern Tangipahoa-
Southern Tangipahoa-Wilkinson-Amite-Pike-Walthall-Pearl River-
Hancock-Harrison-Jackson-
539 PM CST Thu Dec 7 2017

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of Southeast
Louisiana...South Mississippi and the adjacent coastal waters.

.DAY ONE...Tonight

A winter weather advisory is in effect tonight through noon
Friday for all of southern Mississippi and a large portion of
southeast Louisiana north and west of the tidal lakes.

Gale warnings remain in effect through noon Friday for most of
the open gulf waters. Small craft advisories remain in effect
for the remaining coastal waters through Friday.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday

An even stronger cold front is expected to move through the area
Friday evening bringing a possible hard freeze to the northern
tier of the area while the majority of the remaining areas will
have freezing temperatures Friday and Saturday nights. Wind chill
temperatures are expected to fall to the low to mid 20s for some
areas.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not anticipated.

24/RR

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 heavy snow, 3 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Wilkinson

When
December 7, 9:00 PM CST to December 8, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Wilkinson forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
31.161, -91.311 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Wilkinson County Emergency Manager reported 5 inches of snow in Woodville. The cooperative observer in Gloster reported 2.5 inches of snow, with 3 inches of snow reported in Centreville by a National Weather Service employee.

Heavy Snow, Pike

When
December 7, 10:00 PM CST to December 8, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Pike forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
31.175, -90.404 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Pike County Emergency Manager reported 5.5 inches of snow at McComb. There was a report of 7.5 inches received from the public 5 miles east-northeast of Osyka. Accumulation of wet snow caused small and medium sized tree branches to snap, which fell on power lines resulting in some power outages.

Heavy Snow, Walthall

When
December 7, 10:00 PM CST to December 8, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Walthall forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
31.148, -90.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Six to seven inches of snow was reported to the north and west of Tylertown. Accumulation of wet snow caused small and medium sized tree branches to snap, which fell on power lines resulting in some power outages.

Heavy Snow, Amite

When
December 7, 11:00 PM CST to December 8, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Amite forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
31.174, -90.804 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Amite County Emergency Manager reported 7 inches of snow at Liberty. There was also a public report of 7.2 inches of snow 10 miles north of Liberty. Accumulation of wet snow caused small and medium sized tree branches to snap, which fell on power lines resulting in some power outages.

Heavy Snow, Pearl River

When
December 8, 6:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Pearl River forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
30.769, -89.590 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Pearl River County Emergency Manager reported 2 to 4 inches of snow was common across the county, with 4 inches reported at Poplarville.

Winter Weather, Hancock

When
December 8, 6:00 AM CST to December 9, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Hancock forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager

Snow fell across the county with amounts ranging from near 1 inch at Waveland to near 2 inches at Necaise.

Winter Weather, Harrison

When
December 8, 4:00 PM CST to December 9, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Harrison forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager

Emergency Management reported near 2 inches of snow fell in the north part of county near Saucier with minor accumulations of sleet and snow in the south part.

Winter Weather, Jackson

When
December 8, 4:00 PM CST to December 9, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Jackson forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager

Snow and sleet fell across the county with only minor accumulations in the north portion near Vancleave where 1.5 inches accumulated.

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Mississippi in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Mississippi, December 2017

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 730340, 730338, 730339, 730333, 730337, 731749, 731748, 731756.