Things to know Thursday, December 22

JACKSON, miss. (WLBT) – If you missed some of the most important titles and need to catch up, don’t worry. WLBT has collected some of the best stories from our website to bring you up to date.

1. First warning forecast: polar air mass on final approach

A big day of transition in central and southwestern Mississippi as a sharp arctic cold front descends on the region Thursday evening, pushing temperatures into the low 10s, with wind chills below zero degrees early from Friday after moving above the upper 50s to lower and mid 60s. Finish in cold weather before sunset. Expect clouds to hang around for much of the day before a flurry of late afternoon and early evening rain that could briefly mix with sleet or snow north of the coast. ‘I-20 as cold air invades the area. We will monitor any road impacts in these areas. Winds will also intensify with the passage of the front – gusting to 30-40mph overnight, pushing the wind chill to between -10 and +5 early Friday morning. Finish in cold weather before sunset.

ALERT DAY FRIDAY: As the sun returns to forecast – it will be a misleading mark of sunshine with extreme cold settling over central and southwestern Mississippi. The highs will struggle to reach the 20s in the afternoon with a steady breeze, just 25-30 mph throughout the day. Wind chills will remain in single digits down to 10s. Fortunately, clouds will creep into the area overnight, helping to act as a blanket to keep temperatures from dropping too far. It will still be extremely cold, lows will be in the low to mid 10s with wind chills remaining in the single digits overnight.

CHRISTMAS WEEKEND AND BEYOND: This dangerous cold will likely continue throughout the weekend, however, we will see a slow modification on Saturday and Sunday. We probably won’t hit freezing point until Saturday afternoon amid a mix of clouds and sunshine – we’ll hold ALERT DAY status for Christmas Eve for the continuous cold. Another night in the 10s, however, the winds won’t be as much of a factor. Christmas Day will feature highs above freezing in the low 30s to near 40s. Expect another chilly night in the upper 10s and lower 20s on Monday. Beyond that, we will continue a warming trend through the end of 2022, which could feature storms and near 70 highs by the end of the week.

2. MBI Investigating Shooting Involving Officer in “Hostage Situation” at Richland Walmart

The Richland Police Department was involved in a shooting involving an officer after responding to a reported weapon at US 49 Walmart. The shooting happened around 5:45 p.m. Wednesday night. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation has since revealed that Richland police are responding to a hostage situation at Walmart. Allison Clark, spokesperson for the Richland Police Department, confirmed the incident resulted in a shooting involving an officer shortly before MBI released the new information. “We can confirm this was an officer-involved shooting at Walmart at approximately 5:45 p.m. Walmart is clear and secure,” Clark said. Walmart is currently closed.

3. Lt. Governor outlines priorities ahead of 2023 legislative session

Lieutenant Govt. Delbert Hosemann says there are a few things heads of state need to sort out in 2023, the first thing being the status of rural hospitals. “We have a critical need in Mississippi and our hospitals,” Hosemann said. It’s not going to be fixed by reimbursement alone, quite frankly. So we have to make strategic decisions on how, how much and where we are going to find and I dissipate, it will happen this year. After visiting Greenwood-LeFluer Hospital in Greenwood, Hosemann says that even with the reduction in services, the hospital stands to lose more than $20,000,000.

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