Heavy Snow — Prentiss, Mississippi

2021-02-17 to 2021-02-18 · Prentiss, Mississippi

Event narrative

Three to five inches of snow fell. Area transportation was greatly impacted. The covering on the Bay Springs Lake Marina collapsed due to the weight of snow and sleet.

Wider weather episode

A weak disturbance ahead of the main trough brought light snow to northeast Arkansas and the Missouri Bootheel during the early morning hours of Wednesday, February 17th. Meanwhile, another potent mid-level trough approached the Lower Mississippi Valley. Precipitation blossomed across the ARKLATEX during the morning hours as the system intensified. This shield of precipitation spread into the Mid-South. From the late afternoon into the early evening hours very heavy snow bands set up across the Memphis metro and northwest Mississippi. Snowfall rates reached at least 1.5 inches an hour across some areas. The heaviest precipitation lifted east-northeast into Middle Tennessee later that evening. Some snow lingered into Thursday though additional impacts were limited. New snowfall amounts ranged from 4 to 6 inches across east-central Arkansas, northwest Mississippi and southwest Tennessee including the Memphis metro with lesser amounts to the north. One to three inches of snow and sleet fell across northeast Mississippi.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 944181. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.