As we head into another cold night, the City of Olive Branch continues to closely monitor community conditions after Winter Storm 2026.
City Hall and other non-emergency City Buildings remain closed for Wednesday, January 28th. Emergency Services will be in service. City Park and its amenities, Olive Branch Senior Center, and the Olive Branch Airport 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 Wednesday, January 28th 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
Warmer temperatures will continue tomorrow (January 28th). Warmer Temps means thawing ice and as excited as we are, this can have serious impacts!
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.
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 and contact a plumber if damage is suspected. You can also call the City of Olive Branch Public Works at 662.895.4111.
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 today has again helped with clearing roadways, but as temperatures dip back below freezing, black ice is anticipated tonight and into tomorrow morning.
Mississippi Department of Transportation is urging emergency travel only on all Interstates and Highways such as I269, HWY 302 (GOODMAN ROAD), HWY 305, HWY 78, and HWY 178. We are so thankful for crews from Southern Mississippi who made it to DeSoto County to help assist on state-managed roadways!
Our City Public Works and Fleet Services departments have worked around the clock since Winter Storm Fern's arrival. Today (1/27) the sunshine greatly helped our efforts in clearing key roadways. However, our City has over 350 linear miles of roadways that we must continue to address and tomorrow we will continue to work on emergency service routes inside the City limits, main roadways, bridges, and side streets.
Again, Olive Branch Police Department continues to have its implement weather policy in place. 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.
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:
The state of Mississippi continues to work with county, state, federal, and private sector partners to respond to this storm. 47 counties and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians have reported damage and impacts from the storm. There are approximately 147,000 without power across the state. The Mississippi Department of Transportation is constantly working to make roads passable. If you are looking for ways to help those impacted by Winter Storm Fern, first and foremost, leave interstates open for Emergency Travel if at all possible. This allows emergency travel to get through Olive Branch and DeSoto County to those who need them most. Private businesses that would like to help, please contact Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA)’s Business Emergency Operations Center (MSBEOC). A link to register can be found here. For citizens who want to help, the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC) is collecting bottled water, nonperishable food items, can openers, baby diapers and formula, propane cook stoves and propane bottles, and basic essential paper products to be delivered to North Mississippi. Donations can be dropped off at the Old Armory at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds this week, January 27-30, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.MEMA is coordinating with MDAC to ensure the assistance reaches those in need. We hope that you will continue to join us in praying for recovery efforts across our State.
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.