Tens of Thousands Without Power in Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana After Storm
Tens of thousands of residents across Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana were without power or heat on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, after a winter storm over the weekend coated large parts of the region in ice and damaged hundreds of power lines and poles. Nearly an inch of accumulated freezing rain left trees, branches and utility infrastructure crashing to the ground, and temperatures hovering near or below freezing on Wednesday made it more difficult and costly for people to stay warm.
Officials and linemen warned that trees and branches were still falling as work continued. Local impacts included a boil-water advisory for some Monroe, La., residents after temporary storm-related water-system issues, and the University of Mississippi in Oxford remaining closed through next Sunday.
Oxford’s mayor, Robyn Tannehill, said National Guard troops would arrive to help the city recover, and parts of two interstate highways in North Mississippi remained closed for ice removal as of Wednesday afternoon. Nashville and surrounding Davidson County accounted for a majority of Tennessee’s outages.
Nashville Electric Service said that about 100,000 customers remained without power early Wednesday afternoon, close to a quarter of its service base, down from a peak of about 230,000. Many neighborhoods were described as littered with debris, including jagged branches and icy tree trunks.
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