County to close offices ahead of expected winter weather

Harrison County will close operations until 12 p.m. Wednesday in anticipation of winter weather hitting South Mississippi on Tuesday morning.

Offices already were to be closed Monday for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Emergency Management Director Matt Stratton said an emergency declaration would be signed Sunday afternoon, echoing the declaration issued by Gov. Tate Reeves on Saturday.

“Well, I know we’ll come out of this OK, but it is a serious situation. We need to plan and prepare for it as we’re approaching Tuesday — and even as early as tonight, with the cold weather and the sheltering for our vulnerable citizens, it’s going to be a multi-day event for us.”

Stratton said 2 to 3 inches of snow could fall in South Mississippi on Tuesday — an amount not seen on the Coast since 1996.

Cold weather shelters were opening Sunday evening and were expected to stay open in anticipation of freezing temperatures during the day Monday and Tuesday.

In addition, Harrison County schools are expected to stay closed Tuesday and Wednesday because of the weather.

Officials with Keesler Air Force Base and the Gulfport Seabee Base also expected closures to be announced.

The county also has a storm map on its website that will show road closures as they are announced. You can click here to use the storm map.

Elsewhere on the Coast, Hancock County government offices will be closed Tuesday, as well as city offices in Bay St. Louis, Diamondhead, and Waveland.