Hey Olive Branch! We're still here and we're still monitoring community conditions.
Today, Mayor Ken Adams gave a City Update. You can find his remarks here.
City Hall and other non-emergency City Buildings remain closed for Friday, January 29th due to treacherous roadway conditions on secondary streets. Emergency Services will be in service. City Park and its amenities, Olive Branch Senior Center, and the Olive Branch Airport runways and lobbies will also be closed.
At this time, the City of Olive Branch continues to not be experiencing any issues with utility infrastructure. Our City managed Gas & Water Lines are fully functional. Northcentral and Entergy are also reporting no outages within the City.
In the event of utility outages or low water/gas pressure, please contact your utility company:
Garbage Collection
Waste Connection will not be in service Friday, January 30th to service garbage or recycling routes. We are working closely with Waste Connections on their recovery plans for missed service from last week into this week. If you can, please keep garbage bagged and in your cart(s) as much as possible. More details will follow in the days ahead.
Weather Conditions & Household Need-to-Knows
Temperatures will dip below freezing this weekend. It is advisable to drip your faucets, bring in pets and plants, and of course check on your people.
All residents should monitor ice buildup and be mindful of potential structural failure. Slanted roofs may have solid sheets of ice, that may move as they melt. Thawing and refreezing will add more weight to structures still covered with ice.
Residents should also check on pipes. If you have a frozen pipe, safely thaw it by turning on the affected faucet and applying gentle heat (such as a hair dryer or warm towels) starting near the faucet and working toward the frozen area. Never use open flames or boiling water. Once water is flowing, check for leaks.
Residents who’ve sustained damage from this severe winter weather event should do the following:
• File an insurance claim.
• Take photos of the damage to the home.
• Report damage to their county/MEMA via the self-report tool.
Please stay off of frozen ponds, lakes, and creeks. The ice is not thick enough to support weight.
If you must get out, please clear off your hood, windshield, and roof before driving. Flying chunks of ice can damage your windshield and others.
Road Conditions
Many roadways and highways remain extremely hazardous at this time. If you do not have to go out, stay home! The sunlight continues to help with clearing roadways, but as temperatures dip back below freezing, black ice is anticipated tonight and into tomorrow morning.
Mississippi Department of Transportation has reopened I22/HWY 78. However, MDOT Crews will remain in this area. If you do not need to take this interstate, MDOT is asking folks to stay out of the area while they continue to remove ice and remaining debris. This closure is to treat roadways and assist trucks and vehicles that have been stuck due to icy conditions.
Our area first responders are encouraging folks to please continue to stay off roadways if they can. If you may need to report to work, reminder that roadways are going to be slick. Clear off all ice off of your hood, windshield, and roof before operating your vehicle. Non-essential individuals are asked to stay home. If you must get out, go slow, give yourself time to stop, and be mindful of emergency crews and public works crews.
Our City Public Works and Fleet Services departments have worked around the clock since Winter Storm Fern's arrival. The sunshine and warmer temperatures Thursday greatly helped our efforts in clearing key roadways. However, our City has over 350 linear miles of roadways that we must continue to address. We will continue to work on emergency service routes inside the City limits addressing main roadways and bridges before we begin working on side streets.
If you need to monitor road conditions, you can check out the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) 's free traffic resources to monitor live road conditions at https://www.mdottraffic.com/landing.aspx .
Warming Centers
Warming Centers in Olive Branch, Southaven, and Hernando remain open for those in need.
Olive Branch: 9549 Pigeon Roost Road, Olive Branch, MS 38654 on the campus of Olive Branch Elementary.
Ash's Irish Pub 9200 Goodman Road Suite 300
Southaven: 312 Hwy 51 N Southaven, MS
Hernando: The Gale Center 601 Elm Street, Hernando, MS
State Updates:
Governor Tate Reeves shared this update Thursday, January 29.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) has received reports of 223 homes, 10 businesses, and seven farms damaged, destroyed or affected statewide. Additionally, 20 public roads have sustained major damage, 50 sustained minor damage, and 12 have been destroyed. Two bridges have sustained minor damage. Those numbers are expected to rise as damage assessments continue.Power companies have deployed thousands of linemen to help restore power as quickly as possible. Approximately 98,850 outages remain throughout the state, down from a high of about 180,000.
The state of Mississippi welcomes all volunteers who want to help; however, we encourage individuals to avoid self-deploying. Instead, please join a verified organization or nonprofit that assists during disasters before heading to the affected area. For other ways to help our fellow Mississippians, visit the January Winter Weather page on the MEMA website at January 2026 Winter Weather | Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.
Gratitude
Thank you to our public works, police, fire, and emergency crews who are working through these conditions, and thank you to residents for continuing to look out for one another during this storm. Our City is blessed in many ways, but mainly for the kindness we have for one another.
Follow updates on the http://www.obms.us/winterstorm2026 page for the latest city updates or connect with us on social media. Stay safe, Olive Branch.