Another arctic blast expected to freeze South Mississippi this week. How cold will it get?

Icy air will freeze the Mississippi Coast again this week, but forecasters said the blast will end by the weekend and will not rival the freak snowstorm that hit when temperatures dipped below freezing last month.

The freeze is forecast early Thursday and Friday mornings, when lows in Gulfport could drop between 20 and 30 degrees. The windchill those mornings is expected to dip to 16 degrees.

“There’s just a good, decent cold front coming,” said Hannah Lisney, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Slidell.

The arctic air could burst pipes and wilt plants accustomed to the recent warmer weather. It will follow a rainy week forecast across Louisiana and South Mississippi. But forecasters said the rain will clear before the freeze, so there is no risk of water freezing on roads.

The high Thursday and Friday will rise to the mid 40s and 50s. The weekend will still be chilly: Saturday morning lows are forecast to dip to the mid 30s, with highs in the 50s.

Forecasts show temperatures will rise into the 60s again next week.

This story was originally published February 18, 2025 at 11:31 AM.