It will take a bit of time for the Golden Triangle to thaw from Tuesday’s freeze.
Oktibbeha and Lowndes counties are dealing with the aftermath of a winter storm that brought temperatures to the mid-teens Tuesday. The Mississippi Department of Transportation said 75 counties have reported ice on bridges and roads.
The National Weather Service in Jackson reports temperatures could get as low as the single digits early Wednesday morning before finally rising above freezing later that afternoon. A hard freeze warning is in effect until 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Air travel effects
The Golden Triangle Regional Airport is waiting for the right time to open its runways.
“Like most airports in the area, we’re dealing with a lot of ice and icy conditions,” said Matt Dowell, the airport’s executive director.
He said the airport handles two outbound flights to Atlanta per day and two inbound flights. The first flight to Atlanta scheduled for early Tuesday morning was canceled. The second, as of press time, had been delayed.
Dowell said the airport doesn’t have equipment to remove snow or ice, due to the limited amount of use that equipment gets.
Instead, he said the airport must “wait and see what the sun and the temperatures do.”
High demand on food deliveries, short supply
Tuesday’s icy roads haven’t curbed the Golden Triangle’s appetite.
Whitney Matthews, a Starkville resident who often delivers for the food ordering platform DoorDash, told The Dispatch that her DoorDash phone application “has been spamming me with texts asking for me to (deliver) because it’s super busy.”
She said she normally does DoorDash deliveries for two hours about four to five times a week. She said the app was offering only $1 extra per delivery.
“I’m still staying inside,” she said. “My safety and car is a priority.”
Another regular DoorDash driver in Starkville, Mark McCoy, said he also decided not to take deliveries Tuesday.
“The roads are too icy and dangerous,” he said. “Not to mention a lot of places and restaurants are closed today.”
Several other restaurants that usually offer delivery were offering pickup only.
Kevin Edwards is news editor and reports on Starkville and Oktibbeha County government.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 44 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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