Winter Storm — Benton, Mississippi

2024-01-14 to 2024-01-15 · Benton, Mississippi

Event narrative

Around seven inches of snow fell across Benton County.

Wider weather episode

A major winter storm impacted the Mid-South on January 14-15, 2024. Transportation was greatly affected. Snow spread across the Mid-South during the afternoon hours on January 14th as an upper jet intensified across the region in advance of a potent upper trough. By early morning Monday, areas along and south of I-40 and especially near the Tennessee/Mississippi border were located under the right entrance region of the upper jet streak. The lift associated with the jet streak combined with a steady influx of mid-level moisture and strong mid-level frontogenesis resulted in heavy snowfall. The heaviest snowfall in north Mississippi was just south of the Tennessee/Mississippi line where four to eight inches fell. Further south from Tupelo to Charleston and points south, precipitation was mainly in the form of sleet with amounts up to an inch. The entrance region of the upper jet slowly sagged south through north Mississippi on January 15th and precipitation gradually tapered off.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1157642. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.