BROOKHAVEN — National Weather Service in Jackson warns of strong and gusty winds at the end of this week. While temperatures will be in the 70s and the sun will be shining there is a threat of wind.

Lincoln County and the NWS Jackson warning area are all placed under limited risk of possible strong winds Thursday. Sustained wind speeds could be between 20 to 25 mph while gusts could reach 30 to 4o mph at times.

The winds could thus cause weak trees and limbs to break and fall. High profile vehicles may become unsteady in these winds. The threat is all day Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is important to know where any dead pine trees are in a timber stand if you are in the woods Thursday.

Drought conditions caused stress and a severe beetle outbreak killed 12.5 million trees across Mississippi. Many of those pine trees have already shed pine needles and the bark is starting to peel away from the trunk. It is only a matter of time before they fall.

Lincoln County Forester Steve Williams warned these trees could become more dangerous as they rot standing. Tree tops could break off and could be potential widow makers. It is unknown how long it will take for those trees to fall but strong winds and storms could help speed up the process.

Williams told The Daily Leader at the beginning of February that the dead trees could potentially block roads if they fall in a roadway and potentially cause wildfires by downing power lines.

We will provide updates as the weather develops.