No Lincoln County area schools currently have plans to dismiss early as severe thunderstorms pose a moderate threat this afternoon for Southwest Mississippi and through tonight.

School administrators will contact student parents or guardians if the decision is made to dismiss early for safety reasons, and notices will also be placed on the schools’ social media accounts.

Lincoln County School District had virtual students today, all dismissed by 11:30 a.m. with staff leaving at 12:30 p.m.

Brookhaven and Lawrence County School Districts also had virtual learning days.

Copiah County schools will dismiss early, and Copiah-Lincoln Community College is dismissing at noon.

Multiple rounds of severe weather are expected by the National Weather Service. Significant thunderstorms and tornadoes are likely, with strong tornadoes possible.

Some thunderstorms could also produce damaging wind gusts and large hail of golf ball or baseball size.

Local flash flooding is possible, particularly in low lying and urban areas. Minor river flooding is also possible.

As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, the Pearl River was at 13.23 feet deep and expected to rise to 16.5 feet by Thursday evening, before tapering off back to the 14-foot range. Flood stage for the Pearl River at this area is 22 feet.