It looks like a good possibility that Brookhaven could see snowagain for the third year in a row, officials said Thursday.

Lincoln County Civil Defense Director Clifford Galey said theforecast from the National Weather Service looks good for 1 to 3inches of snow to fall on south Mississippi below Interstate 20 onFriday night.

“It looks like it’s supposed to start as a rain and snow mixfrom about 6 p.m. to about 9 p.m., and it should turn to snow about9,” he said.

As of 9 a.m. Friday, snow was already falling on Houston, andthe band delivering the wintry precipitation was on its way intoLouisiana, said Jared Allen, a meteorologist with the NationalWeather Service in Jackson.

Allen said Brookhaven would be “one of the best spots” forsnowfall Friday night, but anyone wishing to dream of a whiteChristmas had better get outside and see it soon.

“Unfortunately, if you sleep in a little bit on Saturdaymorning, you may miss it,” he said. “It’s going to be a prettymarginal event. (Saturday) by lunch, you won’t even know anythinghappened.”

Allen said the best places for accumulation would be elevatedsurfaces and grassy areas. He said accumulation on roadways shouldbe minimal.

The biggest danger for freeze-over will likely be on bridges andoverpasses, Galey said. He said the low is expected to be rightaround freezing, but not much lower.

The important thing, Galey said, is that people who are notfamiliar with how to drive on snowy or icy roads only get out inthe weather if it’s absolutely necessary.

“If you don’t know how to drive on the road, I don’t recommendthat you try it. Don’t get out in it,” he said.

And as far as battening down the hatches at home, Galey saidthose who haven’t wrapped their pipes yet probably should.

“It’s that time of year,” he said. “And we’ve already had colderweather than we’ll have this weekend.”

Galey said any accumulation of snow basically depends on howmuch actually falls.

“The more snow we get, the longer it stays,” he said, addingthat Saturday’s temperatures should be in the mid to upper 40s.

So if Lincoln County sees snow for the third year in a row,could it possibly simply be the first snow of the year? Galey saidhe doesn’t know for sure at this point if there is more snow on theway this season or not.

“They haven’t really talked about that,” Galey said. “Althoughnext week it’s supposed to be wet all week.”