You know that Mississippi, located on the edge of the Gulf of America, gets its fair share of nasty weather, with big hurricanes making landfall there regularly. What the state doesn’t face often is an ice storm like it experienced this past weekend. But, Keith Hayward, CEO of the area’s electrical cooperative, North East Mississippi Electric Power Association, tells The Wall Street Journal, “Ice storms are a hurricane for us.” You can see a sample of the devastation in the video below.
I am very concerned for the people of northern Mississippi tonight with so many power outages and a forecast low temperature of 10F. The temperature is plummeting behind one of the worst ice storms to ever hit the region pic.twitter.com/gObFGBac3I
— Reed Timmer, PhD (@ReedTimmerUSA) January 25, 2026
Now, the well-trained crews of Mississippi and surrounding states are working hard to get their customers’ power back up and running. The power industry’s association, the Edison Electric Institute, explained the efforts in a press release:
Around-the-clock restoration progress continues in the communities impacted by Winter Storm Fern, with more than 65,000 mutual assistance workers from at least 44 states and Canada restoring power to more than 572,000 affected customers so far.
“We share the urgency of restoring power to Americans in affected communities as fast as possible,” said EEI President and CEO Drew Maloney. “Our workers are on the ground, braving tough environments to help residents and restore power. We are coordinating closely with federal, state, and local officials and committed to helping every community.”
The CEO-led Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council held a second call last night to ensure unity of effort at the highest levels of government and across all segments of the industry. Senior officials from the Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and National Energy Dominance Council joined CEOs from all segments of the electric power industry to discuss the restoration effort and significant progress underway.
The brave men and women on the repair crews are working overtime to restore power to customers’ homes. Even leaning out of helicopters for tricky jobs like the one you see in the video below.
⚠️ System Update:
Crews are working in the air and on the ground restoring the last remaining high-voltage transmission lines in North Mississippi. Crews have now restored 26 customer delivery points since the winter storm began.
TVA continues coordinating closely with local… pic.twitter.com/BsaRsy5xq9— Tennessee Valley Authority (@TVAnews) January 27, 2026
To keep the power on and homes warm during the storm, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and the Trump administration have prevented the retirement of many coal power plants, and given exceptions to power grids to run power plants for longer and at higher capacities than strict regulations normally allow.
Action Line: In the face of natural disasters like this, it’s important that your family is prepared. Having a backup generator and plenty of supplies, including fuel, can make a big difference in your ability to ride out a storm like this in comfort and warmth. Use the experiences of this storm as a guide for you and your family to prepare for the next one. Let me know what you’re doing to prepare. Email me at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com. And click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.
Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.
