Students in the Vicksburg Warren School District will get a snow day Tuesday. Monday evening, Superintendent Chad Shealy made the decision to cancel classes due to the expected inclement weather predicted for the area.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch until 9 p.m. Tuesday. The forecast is predicting light snow to begin late Monday after midnight with total snow accumulations of one to two inches ending Tuesday afternoon.

Thomas Winesett, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Jackson, said the wintry mix of sleet and snow will begin after midnight tonight and then transition into all snow in the early morning hours of Tuesday.

“It will last through mid-afternoon and be out of the area by 6 p.m.,” Winesett said. “Right now, we are looking at around an inch in Vicksburg with higher totals further north in the Delta. Vicksburg is right on the edge, so north of Vicksburg could see up to two inches of snow.”

Christi Kilroy, director of communications for the Vicksburg Warren School District, said earlier Monday she and the district staff are keeping a close eye on the weather. She said district officials are in communication with Sheriff Martin Pace and county emergency management director John Elfer.

“Superintendent Chad Shealy will make the decision either early tomorrow morning or later tonight,” Kilroy said. “Road conditions are always an issue with making sure over 8,200 students get to school safely.”

Kilroy said a text alert, as well as social media post on Facebook, will inform the public, students and staff.

“We will look at the temperature, road conditions and general safety of our staff and students,” Kilroy said. “We are definitely aware and watching it closely.”

Students were not in class on Monday due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday and there is an early release day scheduled for Wednesday to allow for teacher development.

Kristi Smith with Vicksburg Catholic Schools said they also remain in contact with Elfer and the principals will make the decision on the schools.

Buddy Strickland, principal at St. Aloysius, said student safety is their biggest concern and a decision will be made Tuesday morning.

“We won’t make a decision until real early in the morning,” Strickland said. “We’ll make that call and send a notification out. The safety of our students is the single most important factor for us.”

He said an automated alert will be issued if school is cancelled.

Porters Chapel Academy Headmaster Pam Wilbanks also said a decision will be made in the morning.

“It’s really too early to call at this point, but we will be up early and make a decision then,” Wilbanks said. She said PCA will also used a text message system and inform the media.

Elfer said Monday that preparations have been made and they are “in a wait and see right now.” He said officials likely will have a better understanding of what to expect later this evening.

“It just depends on what forecast you look at, but probably late tonight or mid-morning we could get a half inch to an inch and a half of whatever we get,” Elfer said. “Whatever we get won’t melt.”

Temperatures are expected to only reach the freezing mark Tuesday and Wednesday with low expected to fall into the mid-teens Tuesday night and Wednesday night.

If road conditions are hazardous, Elfer said the road department has supplies on hand and the Mississippi Department of Transportation is also available to help as needed.

“They do have some slag they can put down,” Elfer said. “We do have some spreaders. We’ve got some equipment in case we’ve got some trees that fall. We’ve got all that kind of thing. Obviously we aren’t set up like they are up north. MDOT and our road department, they’ve got some aggregate and slag that we can put out on overpasses and problem areas.”