Winter Storm Fern’s crippling ice left most of Grenada County in the dark, coating trees, limbs and power lines and triggering widespread power outages that crews were still working to fix Monday afternoon.
At the height of the storm, 7,850 of 11,457 tracked meters in Grenada County – about 68.52 percent – were without electricity, according to local outage figures. Much of the county awoke Sunday to streets littered with fallen limbs, sagging lines and transformers popping in the freezing rain.
Entergy Mississippi said late Monday afternoon that crews were making progress assessing damage and restoring power to more than 52,000 customers still affected by the winter weather that moved through its service area from Southaven to Natchez on Jan. 24 and 25. The restoration effort, which peaked at 67,000 outages, has involved about 2,660 workers so far, including line crews, damage assessors and support staff brought in from outside the region. More than 80,000 Entergy customers have lost power as grids are regenerated causing others to lose power.
In addition, the distribution system – the wires that serve businesses and home – have been “really devastated,” according to Entergy Mississippi President and CEO Haley Fisackerly. However, a “significant amount of damage” has occurred to the transmission system – large wire, structure that carry power to substations that serve communities. Currently, 13 transmission lines – spanning more than 300 miles and service 11 communities – are out of service, 15 substations are still out, however, 17 have already been returned to service. There are also at least 234 broken poles, 971 spans or 50 miles of wire down, 35 damaged transformers.
“We expect that number will climb significantly throughout the days when we get to some of the harder, more difficult to reach areas,” Fisackerly added.
In all, Entergy is about approximately 45 percent assessed when it comes to damage.
A thick layer of ice coats a power line in Grenada. | Photo by Adam Prestridge © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
During a 4 p.m. press conference Monday, Fisackerly said Grenada “is probably the hardest hit area for the Entergy system that we serve.” He said the company hopes to complete detailed damage assessments for Grenada County by Thursday, with those findings guiding how crews and equipment are deployed in the days ahead.
Kamisha Quates, vice president of reliability for Entergy, said during the same briefing that Fern has created a particularly challenging situation for the Grenada area.
“Haley mentioned Grenada,” Quates said. “Grenada has been our hardest hit area. We have really just begun doing our damage assessment. He talked a little bit about damage assessment, but we have to not only wait for road conditions; we know that we’re going to have freezing temperatures today and tomorrow.”
Quates said trees down across roads and in utility rights of way are also slowing the work, but will not stop it.
“There are trees in our right of way, there are trees in the road that the city and municipalities are responsible for, but we will move those to restore power,” she said. “Based on all those factors, we are projecting Sunday night (Feb. 1) for the Grenada area. I will say as we continue our assessment.”
Fisackerly also urged customers to shut off as many appliances and devices as possible while they wait for power to be restored.
“A lot of people have heat plugged in or other appliances that are running,” he said. “When power’s returned, if you have a lot of things on, it’s going to create a surge and that could damage your home or overload our systems, so please take time to do that.”
Fisackerly also encouraged residents to walk their property and look for damage to equipment attached to their homes.
“Assess around your home,” he said. “A lot of times when trees fall, they could rip the meters off of your home or the – what we call – weather heads where your service comes into your house. That is your property; you will have to have that repaired by an electrician, so make sure you’re doing those assessments as well at your home.”
Across Mississippi, the storm’s toll has been far-reaching. Gov. Tate Reeves said Monday afternoon that approximately 153,000 customers remained without power statewide, with weather hazards, debris and poor road conditions complicating efforts to get the lights back on. State officials said power companies and utility crews are working long shifts in hazardous conditions to restore service as quickly and safely as possible.
Reeves also announced that two people were killed in the storm – one in Hinds County and one in Tishomingo County – and that two others were injured in Hinds and Smith counties.
“Life safety continues to be the state of Mississippi’s top priority,” Reeves said in a statement on the state’s response to the storm.
The governor said 47 counties, including Grenada County, and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians have reported damage and impacts from the storm. FEMA is on the ground in Mississippi helping distribute 30 generators and fuel and supporting response operations, while the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency continues to send generators, bottled water, Meals Ready to Eat (MREs), cots and blankets to hard-hit areas. Reeves thanked FEMA and President Donald Trump for their continued support as the state works to stabilize power and shelter needs.
The Mississippi Department of Transportation is working to clear roads of ice, fallen trees and downed power lines, coordinating with local utilities so crews can safely reach damaged infrastructure. Officials cautioned that in many communities, blocked roads and low-hanging lines still pose risks to drivers and could delay full restoration.
Mississippi remains in the damage assessment phase, with state officials working alongside local emergency managers to build a complete picture of the destruction in each county. Once those assessments are finished, Reeves said the state will deploy additional resources as needed to help communities recover.
Dangerous cold is expected to continue through Tuesday morning, and residents are urged to stay home, stay off the roads and stay warm if at all possible. More than 60 city- and county-run warming centers are open across the state for people who need a safe place to escape the cold, and Mississippians are encouraged to check with local officials for locations and hours.
In Grenada County, Emergency Management Agency Director Chris Whitehurst is urging residents that suffered damage from Winter Storm Fern to report it through the state’s online self-report tool promoted in the governor’s announcement. Officials also recommend filing an insurance claim and taking photos of any damage to homes or other property to help speed recovery once conditions improve.
