Warren County will see ice overnight, though what type and how much damage it could cause are highly variable.

City, county and federal officials gathered Wednesday morning for briefings by the National Weather Service and Mississippi Emergency Management agency on a winter storm that will move through the area overnight.

Warren and Issaquena counties are in an elevated risk area for freezing rain and sleet accumulation, which could cause power outages and slick roads, meteorologist Alan Gerard said during the conference call. Sharkey County is on the line of an elevated risk.

“We’re expecting the rain to change to freezing rain this evening. It could transition to sleet,” Gerard said.

Which type of winter precipitation falls will dictate the impact it has on the region. Freezing rain could cause more trees to fall and more power outages, while sleet could freeze over roadways faster, he said.

“That’s one of the things we’re going to look at today. It’s always tough to get a handle on that,” Gerard said.

A few degrees difference will determine the type of precipitation, but city and county officials are bracing for the storm to potentially bring more ice than one a week ago.

“We might start seeing icing as early as 3 a.m.,” Warren County Emergency Manager John Elfer said.

County and school district officials said they would wait until later in the day before making a decision on closing campuses and office buildings.

“It sounds worse than it has been,” said Lum Wright, administrative assistant to Superintendent Chad Shealey.

Depending on wind speeds and temperature, sleet could fall until noon and continue as far south as Wilkinson County, Gerard said.

Winds of 35 to 45 miles per hour are expected to accompany the winter storm. A sustained wind of 25 to 30 miles per hour is predicted, Gerard said.

Temperatures are expected to drop quickly beginning at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Gerard said, leading to a low of 29 in Vicksburg. Areas just north of Vicksburg could experience of low in the teens with a wind chill near 0, Gerard said.

Officials with Gov. Phil Bryant’s office said he was expected to sign an emergency declaration Wednesday morning.