MEMA: Weather-related deaths climb to six, with more cold weather expected

PEARL, Miss. (WLBT) - The number of deaths related to the recent arctic blast has climbed to six.

Thursday afternoon, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency reported six people had died as a result of this week’s wintry weather.

Deaths include those reported in Chickasaw County and on Highway 15 just south of Houston. They also include one each in Humphreys and Sharkey counties.

In Humphreys County, a man was hit by a truck while assessing damage from a crash. This was later classified as a weather-related death.

In Sharkey County, a man was found dead in an elementary school field in Rolling Fork, Mississippi. His cause of death is believed to be hypothermia.

More dangerously cold weather is expected to impact the entire state of Mississippi beginning Friday night into Saturday night.

MEMA says the Mississippi Department of Transportation is already urging people in northern parts of the state to stay off the roadways.

People are also asked to limit their time outdoors due to the risks of hypothermia and frostbite.

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