Flooding and freezing • Marshall County hit with wild weather


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Flooding and freezing
• Marshall County hit with wild weather

By SUE WATSON
Staff Writer

Photo by Ronnie Day

Flood waters cover Whaley Road Sunday afternoon, near the bridge on Bethlehem Road, south of Potts Camp.

Heavy rains that set in early Sunday morning and continued to fall throughout the day caused some roads to flood, according to the Marshall County Board of Supervisors.

Then Monday, with the area under a winter weather advisory, the board passed an emergency order that would enable the county to take necessary steps to handle any hazardous conditions that could arise this week.

Photo by Sue Watson

Michael Reid Harmon clears the ice from a B.J.’s Cleaners vehicle Monday.

Monday morning, sleet and some snow turned to freezing rain that coated vegetation and vehicles. Some four-inch-long icicles formed on window awnings.

Schools dismissed shortly after noon Monday as sleet started falling. Precipitation ceased by mid-afternoon but not the problems.

Hugh Hollowell, emergency management coordinator for the county, said there was a rash of about 15 accidents Monday about 4:30 p.m. Bridges and overpasses were mainly affected, he said.

“It died down around 8:30 p.m. or so and overnight it was fairly quiet,” he said.

Freezing rain was also in the forecast for Tuesday and a winter storm warning was issued until 6 a.m. Wednesday, he said.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency declared an emergency for 45 counties, including Marshall.

County road and bridge crews were busy late Monday salting bridges and dangerous intersections and slick spots on roads, Hollowell said.

“It looked like it was going to be a non-event for a while Monday,” he said. “Of course, they told us it was coming, and it did.”

Photos by Keith Taylor and Chris Ferrell

Lots of water
Other flooded areas Sunday include Oakwood Drive (top) in the Barton community and Loftin Road in the Red Banks area.

District 3 Supervisor Keith Taylor discussed problems with rising waters that left leaves and debris in yards in the Oakwood Drive and Nonconnah Drive areas. He said ditches have been trouble spots for water to back up at the end of Oakwood Drive due to people throwing appliances in the waterways and because of beaver dams. He asked that the matter of clogged ditches be looked into as soon as county employees find better weather conditions.

“It all funnels down from Cayce Road through the woods to Barton,” he said. “It can stop raining and you can still have water over the road. Right by the radio station it floods from just a shower. I think that backs up to Oakwood Drive. We need to prosecute folks throwing stuff in ditches. A washing machine floated up into someone’s yard.”

Other roads that flooded included Durham Road in District 3.

District 2 Supervisor Eddie Dixon closed several roads between Red Banks Road and Taska Road due to rising floodwaters. He said he would rather get blessed out for closing a road than to get blessed out for not closing a road and someone have an accident.

Schools remained closed Tuesday due to the weather, with a decision yet to be made at press-time about classes on Wednesday.

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