Winter weather is in the forecast for central and parts of south Mississippi into Thursday afternoon, according to state and local officials with the Emergency Management Agency.

the National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for the Lincoln County area until 5 p.m. Thursday

MEMA and the National Weather Service said that areas along and south of I-20, down to the U.S. Highway 98 corridor could see light snowfall and sleet with up to an inch of accumulation.

“There is the possibility of a light snow later in the day. We could be looking at anywhere between half an inch to an inch of accumulation,” said Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency Director Clifford Galey.

Areas north of I-20 could see flurries and a light dusting of snow. This could create hazardous driving conditions in some areas, especially on bridges and overpasses.

“I advise drivers to exercise caution when driving on bridges in particular,” Galey said.

Temperatures in the central part of the state should hover around the low to mid-30s throughout the day. Temperatures further south will remain in the low to mid-40s, and areas could see some wintry mix and rainfall.

MEMA and county emergency managers will monitor the situation closely and provide updates as necessary.

In the Lincoln County area, Thursday’s weather forecast calls for cloudy skies with a 40 percent chance of snow showers and rain showers. Highs are forecast in the upper 30s, accompanied by north winds 10 to 15 mph. Tonight’s prediction is for partly cloudy skies and lows in the mid 20s. North winds are expected to be around 5 mph.

On Wednesday, Galey decided to forego a statewide severe weather preparedness measure that would have sounded area storm sirens in order “to not alarm anyone unnecessarily.” The management agency sounds the sirens the first Saturday of each month as a test precaution.

“We don’t sound the sirens if there is overcast weather,” Galey noted.

For detailed preparedness information, you can go to MEMA’s website at www.msema.org. To get up-to-date information, area residents also can “Like” MEMA on Facebook, or “Follow” MEMA on Twitter.