Authorities urge caution with snow in Wednesday forecast

Brookhaven and surrounding areas are under a winter weatheradvisory from late Wednesday until 6 p.m. Thursday as a large upperlevel system moves across the northern Gulf of Mexico and intoAlabama Wednesday night and Thursday, officials said. Forecastersare predicting possibly 3 inches of snow, with up to 6 inches ofaccumulation in some places.

In a part of the country where snow and ice are uncommon, officialsare asking people to proceed with care.

“Just don’t drive in it if you don’t have to,” said BrookhavenAssistant Police Chief Nolan Jones. “I don’t know whether we’ll getit or not. Just take it as it comes, and be careful.”

Lincoln County Civil Defense Director Clifford Galey agreed.

“I haven’t heard anything about any ice, but just be careful if itreally does dump a bunch of snow on us,” he said. “If you don’tneed to get out in it, don’t.”

Monticello Fire Chief and Lawrence County Civil Defense DirectorRobert Patterson also warned people to take precautions in theirhomes. He said when the weather gets colder and people are stayinghome, they tend to run space heaters, which can be a fire hazard ifthey’re not used properly.

“I don’t know what to tell them except just be careful,” he said.”Because if it snows, driving will be terrible. Also, they need tobe careful with heaters, they’ll be wanting to stay inside and warmup.”

And whether the wintry weather comes through or not, FranklinCounty Sheriff James Newman reminded people in the wake of Tuesdaynight’s storm damages that staying up on the weather is the bestplan in any case.

“With more population, it’s more likely that someone’s going to gethit if there’s severe weather,” he said. “I’d tell anyone that’sgoing to do any traveling to watch the forecasts to see whatthey’re headed into.”

Franklin County Civil Defense Director Mark Thornton agreed, addingthat a weather radio can be a great asset during times of uncertainweather.

“They have us under a winter storm watch, with up to 3 inches ofsnow predicted,” he said. “I’d just tell people to just listen toyour weather radio and keep up with what’s going on out there.”