PEARL, Miss. — The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) today provided an update on Mississippi’s response to the severe winter weather impacting the state.
Sadly, two more deaths have been reported – one in Desoto County and one in Sharkey County, bringing the total to 25 statewide.
Governor Tate Reeves today visited a warming center in Alcorn County and the Mississippi National Guard Armory in Tishomingo County. Additionally, he hosted U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Mississippi and met with FEMA, military leadership, first responders and linemen.
Counties continue damage assessments. MEMA has received reports from 51 counties which indicate 369 homes, 26 businesses, and 20 farms have been damaged, destroyed or affected statewide. Additionally, 62 public roads have sustained major damage. 20 have sustained minor damage. Those numbers are expected to fluctuate as damage assessments continue.
Power restoration efforts continue to make significant progress. Approximately 38,900 outages remain, down from a peak of about 180,000.
80 warming centers are open in 51 counties, serving approximately 1,080 people. If you do not have heat, please continue to take advantage of the open warming centers and shelters. For the latest list of locations, please visit: January 2026 Winter Weather | Mississippi Emergency Management Agency
Impacted counties continue to make requests for meals, water, cots, blankets, and generators. A total of 41 counties have made 736 requests. The state of Mississippi continues to fill requests, as requested. Additionally, 66 generators have been installed in critical locations in impacted counties.
Private and nonprofit support also continues to assist recovery efforts. Notably, on Monday, Elon Musk’s xAI donated 500 generators to assist Mississippians.
State agencies remain fully engaged in response operations. The Mississippi Forestry Commission deployed 13 personnel to Tippah County for debris removal and saw operations.
The Mississippi State Department of Health is establishing [CC1] Medical Needs Shelters in Panola, Alcorn, and Lafayette counties, and deploying[CC2] ambulance strike teams. They continue to refill oxygen cylinders for patients in need.
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks deployed 26 uniformed officers to assist with welfare checks and security operations in Tippah, Panola, Lafayette, and Alcorn counties.
The Mississippi National Guard deployed 650 Guardsmen, along with high-wheeled vehicles, maintenance assets, fuelers, medical response capabilities, and rescue equipment.
The Mississippi Department of Transportation continues to perform winter weather treatments on state-maintained roads. You can check live road conditions by downloading the free MDOT Traffic app (App Store or Google Play) or by visiting MDOTtraffic.com.
The Mississippi Highway Patrol has deployed 31 uniformed officers to surrounding counties to provide backfill support and assist with emergency response calls.
If an organization is interested in assisting with response or recovery efforts, they are encouraged to coordinate through MEMA. For more information, please visit: January 2026 Winter Weather | Mississippi Emergency Management Agency
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[CC1]Should this be has established?
[CC2]Should this be deployed?