Recovery efforts continue in the wake of the devastating Winter Storm Fern, with many Tallahatchians and residents across North Mississippi still languishing in darkness nearly two weeks after the storm hit.
As of Tuesday night (Feb. 3), 1,941, or 27%, of Tallahatchie County electrical customers had no power. In adjacent Yalobusha County, 3,227, or 40%, remained powerless.
According to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, Fern caused damages in at least 51 Mississippi counties, disrupting power to a peak of about 180,000 customers. As of Monday, 25 deaths statewide had been attributed to the winter storm, but by Wednesday (Feb. 4), the number had climbed to 28.
Fern’s impact on Tallahatchie County was wrought by freezing rain and sleet that pelted the area from the early-morning hours of Saturday, Jan. 24, continuing through late Sunday, Jan. 25. The storm was followed by subfreezing temperatures.
More than an inch of ice accumulated on surfaces, causing tree limbs to break, some falling onto power lines, cars, homes and other outbuildings, and utility poles to snap like toothpicks. It was reported that as many as 28 utility poles were down in the Brazil community of western Tallahatchie County alone.
Streets, roads and highways were coated with ice and littered with trees and power lines, making travel treacherous and in some cases nearly impossible. Traversing many of the county's rural roads, especially in the highlands of Tallahatchie where so many fallen sections of trees and other debris blocked roads, was much like navigating an obstacle course. Tree limbs continued to fall over the course of several days after the storm hit.
A drooping bush whose berries and limbs are encased in ice stands alongside an ice-covered Main Street in Charleston on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (Photo by Clay McFerrin, Copyright 2026, Emmerich Newspapers Inc.)
Numerous awnings or canopies located at professional offices and businesses around the county collapsed under the weight of accumulated ice. A few of those collapses were noted at Mr. Jiffy convenience store in Charleston, Double Quick convenience store in Tutwiler, Scott Petroleum in Sumner and the West Tallahatchie High School auditorium entrance in Webb.
The scope and severity of damage inflicted by Fern is reminiscent of that caused by a local winter weather event 32 years ago known as the “Great Ice Storm of 1994.”
Tallahatchie Valley Electric Power Association, whose nine-county service area was hit hard by Fern, noted in a Facebook post that “the level of destruction [in 2026] is that of a tornado that is covered in ice. This storm destroyed countless miles of our infrastructure...”
In addition to a lack of electricity, local mail service was disrupted due to icy roads and streets — Charleston Postmaster Sherry Lancaster said Jan. 29 was the first delivery day after the storm.
Except for law enforcement and other essential services, most local government offices were shuttered several days over power outages and travel conditions. County offices in Charleston and Sumner were closed four days. Local schools dismissed all last week. East Tallahatchie School District did not resume classes until Feb. 5.
SuperValu Food Store and many other businesses in Charleston were closed until Jan. 29, or later, due to no electricity.
The Tallahatchie County Safe Room in Charleston became a place of refuge for dozens of people in the days and week following the storm.
Tallahatchie County Emergency Management Agency (TCEMA) Director Thad Roberts, whose office is responsible for Safe Room operations, said as many as 50 people per day used the facility as a temporary warming center and/or for overnight stays.
“We’re glad to open the shelter up,” noted Roberts, explaining that warming centers also were operated by municipalities on the west side of the county.
The Safe Room furnishes bottled water but not food. Roberts said one good Samaritan helped to bridge that gap.
“One lady cooked food and brought it in several nights,” he noted. “She brought them a good meal.”
Ice covers the entire landscape along Mississippi Highway 32 about 1 mile east of Charleston on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (Photo by Clay McFerrin, Copyright 2026, Emmerich Newspapers Inc.)
Midweek this week, TCEMA opened an emergency relief distribution center at the Paducah Wells Volunteer Fire Departrment firehouse, expanding that service on Thursday to include distribution of "essential supplies" and hot meals at five sites in Tallahatchie County.
As for damage reports, Roberts said roofs caved in or dipped at two firehouses: Teasdale and Vance.
“At Vance, there was some damage to the pumper when the roof caved in,” Roberts explained.
At Teasdale, firefighter Shelton Newton said the cab and windshield of a 3,000-gallon tanker were crushed when a section of a roof and a steel beam supporting it fell by more than 4 inches, estimating damages at $10,000 to $15,000.
“It’s a devastating loss,” he noted. “This is the only tanker on this side of the county.”
"It responds to all brush fires to assist with filling trucks," Newton explained. "It backs up Spring Hill. It backs up Enid. Whenever Enid gets called out to a house fire, Teasdale automatically rolls our tanker. ... This truck right here is basically the lifeline for Teasdale and Enid."
In addition to transporting water, Newton said the Teasdale tanker has three connections for fire hoses which can be deployed at any time, giving the department "a good standing fight against any home fire as long as this truck is on the scene."
He did not know how long the truck might be out of commission.
Because of the roof damage at Teasdale firehouse, the station's pumper truck and several other vehicles had to be moved as a precaution, their tanks drained temporarily due to the extreme cold.
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Tallahatchie County Fire Coordinator Linnie Maples said the ice storm presented several challenges.
“We were limited getting emergency vehicles to some people because of low-hanging power lines,” he noted. “Some of the lines we can’t get under with the fire truck."
The message, Maples explained, became "We're still coming, but you may see us in a smaller vehicle like a brush truck that can go under those power lines and stuff."
While there were several first responder calls for firefighters to assist medical services, the only fire call received during the storm came on Sunday night, the 25th, Maples said.
After a tree fell on a house on Sharkey Road, trapping a man inside, a fire broke out.
Both Sharkey-Hampton Lake and Tippo fire departments were dispatched to the scene.
“Sharkey got there,” Maples said. “Tippo couldn’t get there because of trees across the road. They got the truck turned around and headed back to the station but couldn’t get back to the station because power lines had fallen across the road.”
The man was rescued from the house by neighbors and firefighters from Sharkey-Hampton Lake. The house was a total loss, but the occupant was OK.
Many firefighters assisted road crews and other volunteers with removing fallen trees from roads, Maples noted.
"There were several of us out riding, getting stuff out of the roads, winching vehicles, communicating with dispatch to try to coordinate efforts between us and the sheriff's department and the county road department, EMA and what have you," he said. "We were out trying to help the communities."
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Tallahatchie County Sheriff Jimmy Fly said his office worked quite a few one-vehicle accidents involving cars that slid off icy roads.
They also were kept busy “helping people get out of their homes or to their homes, get to family members’ houses or to the warming center at the Safe Room,” Fly added.
One morning, a family was trapped in their home on Tubbs Road near Sumner, the sheriff recalled.
“They were literally frozen in and couldn’t get out,” he said. “Their doors were completely frozen, so we helped them get out of their house.”
Fly said his department has been addressing various situations as they have presented themselves, such as one day transporting an elderly man to the hospital.
“We’ve been busy, and it’s been a mess for sure," he noted.
The sheriff expressed appreciation to all volunteer firefighters “who got out and helped clear the roads,” noting, “Everybody getting out and pitching in, it’s been really good to see.”
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Tallahatchie County Board of Supervisors President Johnny Goodwin of District 2 said the ice storm has kept county road department crews hopping, removing trees, tree limbs and other debris from local roads.
“Getting the roads cleared has been a tremendous challenge,” Goodwin said. “We started the night that the ice started falling, and some of those guys have been working 12- or 15-hour days out there, trying to get people where they can get out to medical or whatever.”
The road clearing and maintenance work has been grueling both during and in the wake of the storm, but Goodwin said, “We’ve had some great, great personnel that got out and did a fine job, and I appreciate their willingness to do so.”
He also expressed appreciation to county residents.
“I would like to thank the people of Tallahatchie County for understanding and bearing with us during this thing,” Goodwin noted. “I know they had some hardships and couldn’t get in and out, but I want to thank all the residents because I know it was a trying time for them.”
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Charleston Mayor Sedrick Smith Sr. said he rode every street in Charleston in the immediate aftermath of the ice storm, noting, “I have not driven on one that didn’t have a power line, utility line or a tree limb down.”
“I got on a tractor the first day and did some pushing myself and got a chance to see it firsthand,” he added.
The city’s water system suffered no service interruptions despite a citywide power outage that lasted days.
“We have an automatic generator that kicks on as the power goes out, so that’s been huge for us,” he said.
Since an extended city water system failure in early 2021, Smith said Charleston has used grant funds to focus on water and sewer improvements, including installing two new wells, new water lines and new mains.
Smith offered “praise to anybody who has helped,” citing people using personal vehicles to deliver food.
“Some guy was out on an ATV, going and checking on people and taking them food,” the mayor added. “I want to give kudos to whomever has been helping.”
City officials have given away cases of bottled water provided by Faith Food Pantry, food kits supplied by the American Red Cross and they even cooked and offered free hamburgers and hot dogs at the former National Guard armory one day this week.
The mayor announced Monday that city officials will be hiring private contractors to pick up limbs and other debris in the city. The county and other municipalities in the county will be doing likewise, utilizing funds designated as part of a federal disaster declaration.
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Sumner Mayor Jackson Webb IV said his town had “a ton” of trees and power lines down after the storm, but “for the most part, we were in decent shape.”
Water service was maintained, but the sewage lift stations went down after being overwhelmed during a power outage.
“The water rose so quick and got over the control panels, so that’s been a problem,” Webb said.
As streets were cleared, most initially were confined to just one lane, he noted.
Webb praised the town’s fire department members, who “... all were up at 5:30 or 6 in the morning getting roads cleared, making sure power was going where it needed to be with generators.”
The mayor said some people with gas-powered generators ran out of fuel, but he noted that Scott Petroleum in Sumner opened up for several hours on Jan. 26 to allow people to refill cans.
“The biggest thing we’re going to have to learn from this, as far as Sumner is concerned, we’ve got some generator issues that we need to address,” Webb said. “Financially, with the town, there’s not a lot of wiggle room in that budget, but when it comes to safety and the public, at least keeping basic services on, we’re going to have to really look at some of that.”
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Tutwiler Mayor Nichole Harris-Rosebud said her town “had a lot of power outages and had trees to fall.”
She said the town lost electrical service Jan. 24 and some areas started getting power back two days later.
In the aftermath of the storm, Harris-Rosebud said the town was busy “trying to grade streets and make sure we could get people to a warming station if they didn’t have gas in their houses.”
She said warming centers were established at both the Tutwiler Activities and Convention Complex on Holly Street and at Tutwiler City Hall on Tallahatchie Avenue.
“We used both depending on where people were located,” she explained.
The mayor said townspeople had no medical emergencies that she was “aware of” and noted that she was “thankful” that the ice storm did not impact Tutwiler even more than it did.
“Our public works department, fire department and police department all worked together to make sure everything was OK,” Harris-Rosebud added. “We even had our state representative, who has some expertise in electrical utilities, to ride around and try to see if we had any problems with lines and things that Entergy might need to know about.”
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Webb Mayor Mary Croft said the ice storm impacted her town “a great deal, but we’ve been blessed.”
“We didn’t have electricity, we had trees that fell into some citizens’ homes and we have tree limbs everywhere,” she said.
Croft said the Webb Fire Department building was opened as a warming center.
“Whoever didn’t have electricity could come in and get warm,” she noted.
Elected town officials pitched in, too, Croft added, explaining that Alderman Willie Garner was active in limb removal around town and Alderwoman Maggie Outlaw cooked meals for some storm-weary residents.
“The chief of police and our police officers worked hard,” the mayor noted. “They couldn’t even go home because they got stranded. Public Works Director Jerry Garner and his staff came in and helped.”
Town water flow was threatened by a generator problem, but it was resolved and the town never lost water service, she explained.
Croft said many people called to offer assistance, noting, “When things happen, people come together. ... Everybody pulled together trying to assist us in this town."
In the end, she noted, “It’s been an experience, but we made it. We’re all here and blessed. I am so grateful. I thank God for that.”
