Biggest winter storm in decades exceeded forecasts across South MS. ‘A total freak show’

The biggest snow storm in six decades swept across the South and enveloped the Mississippi Coast on Tuesday with strong winds and frigid air that iced roads, closed schools and offices and transformed beaches from Bay St. Louis to Pascagoula into white, winter landscapes.

The snow started at dawn and kept falling, silencing the cloudy Gulf Coast except for the sounds of bitter breezes, occasional cars and heavy flakes hitting windows. Residents skied down bridges and spun ATVs in circles through snow. Drivers roared engines, their back wheels spinning, and sputtered up steep, icy inclines. Others took photos of their homes, apparently in awe.

“It’s the biggest snowfall I’ve ever seen,” Waveland Mayor Jay Trapani said.

The snow globe conditions were dangerous, enchanting and historic. The National Weather Service predicted 4 to 6 inches of snow would blanket South Mississippi. But by Tuesday night, the totals exceeded that forecast. Nine inches fell in parts of Long Beach and Ocean Springs. Meteorologists said it could take days to know if the Coast truly broke its last snowfall record.

That number of 7 inches at the Gulfport-Biloxi Airport in December 1963 was the last time the region saw this much snow. Tuesday was also the Coast’s first glimpse of snow since 2014, when 0.2 inches fell that January.

Forecasters pleaded all day that people stay home and avoid more than a dozen closed and iced-over bridges. By Tuesday evening, it appeared that people mostly heeded their warnings and no major calamities were reported. The Mississippi Highway Patrol said troopers worked seven crashes and 81 calls for tows or disabled vehicles.

Officials also warned that the worst was still coming: A winter storm warning lasted until midnight, and wind chills were expected to drop between 5 and 15 degrees Wednesday morning. An extreme cold warning endures until 9 a.m.

First snow of a lifetime

Still, the rare weather thrilled some children and even adults across South Mississippi who frolicked in the first snow of their lives.

“The kids are enjoying it,” said Mike Johnson, who was shoveling at his home in Gautier while his grandchildren played outside Tuesday morning. “It’s not something we welcome,” he said. “But hey, we’ll take advantage of the first experience with them.”

Joshua Larson, a student at Singing River Academy, was riding his scooter through the streets nearby. He planned to stay out all day. “It’s really fun,” said Larson, 11. “I’ve never experienced it,” he added. “It’s my first time.”

The weather prompted no widespread power outages on Tuesday. But grocery stores and government offices were closed, and the Coast Transit Authority stopped running buses. Flights were canceled at the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport. The Palace Casino Resort and Scarlet Pearl Casino closed, too. Dozens of other services shuttered doors on Tuesday and hunkered down in preparation for winter.

Roads and cold remain dangerous

Going anywhere was hard, if not impossible. Seventeen bridges and elevated roads had closed by Tuesday evening, including the Pascagoula River Bridge on Interstate 10, Interstate 110 south of Bayview Avenue, the Biloxi Bay Bridge and the Popp’s Ferry Bridge. The Mississippi Department of Transportation said ice covered bridges and overpasses in 21 counties, and the agency strongly discouraged travel.

“We’re seeing ice and snow on basically all roads south of Wiggins now,” Anna Ehrgott, public information officer with the Mississippi Department of Transportation said Tuesday morning. “Snow plows are headed to the Coast.”

The snow stopped falling Tuesday evening. But temperatures will stay freezing, and forecasters said the snow probably will not melt until Thursday.

Knowing if the Coast has truly broken the snowfall record could take days because the National Weather Service must confirm that automated observations at the airport are accurate, said Christopher Bannan, a meteorologist at the agency. The numbers in Long Beach and Ocean Springs, though striking, did not officially break a record because there is not enough historical data to compare them to. But Bannan said the Coast would probably near its 1963 record. “It is gonna be close,” he said.

Most people appeared to stay put, in the comfort of heat, at homes with covered outdoor plants and the constant dripping of faucets. But venturing out to witness the snow could hardly be helped.

Josh Morgerman, a storm chaser who lives in Bay St. Louis, wandered through the city’s quiet downtown Tuesday morning. In a video posted on social media, he said he was “enjoying this total freak show.”

“I never thought I’d be doing this here,” he said later, in another video, using a broom to brush several inches of powder from his car. “This is just wacked,” he added. “That’s some serious snow.”

Margaret Baker, Blake Kaplan, Anita Lee, Mary Perez, Hannah Ruhoff, Tim Thorsen and Scott Watkins contributed reporting.

This story was originally published January 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.