A DeSoto County freeze is on the way tonight. The National Weather Service in Memphis expects the coldest air of the season so far to settle over the Mid-South, with an areawide freeze and heavy frost by Saturday morning, Nov. 14. That timing lines up with the first round of the high school football playoffs, so fans heading to the stadiums tonight should bundle up.
In its Friday morning forecast discussion, the weather service said lows will reach the upper 20s to lower 30s across the region, with dry weather expected for the next seven days.
DeSoto County Freeze Forecast
The point forecast for Hernando calls for:
Friday: Widespread frost early, then sunny. High near 52, falling to about 49 in the afternoon. North-northwest wind around 10 mph.
Friday night: Clear, with a low around 30.
Saturday: Sunny, high near 52.
Saturday night: Partly cloudy, low around 32.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, high near 55, with a low around 36 Sunday night.
The weather service puts the chance of a hard freeze (below 28 degrees) Saturday morning at about 14% in Memphis and 28% in Holly Springs. The highest odds, 40% to 80%, are in West Tennessee. Frost is likely everywhere, and another hard freeze is possible in parts of the Mid-South on Sunday morning.
Cold Night for Playoff Football
Five DeSoto County teams open the MHSAA playoffs tonight at 7 p.m.:
Ridgeland at Lake Cormorant
Canton at Center Hill
Germantown at DeSoto Central
Hernando at Madison Central
Horn Lake at Oxford
Temperatures should drop through the 30s during the games under clear skies. Winds are expected to ease to 5 mph or less this evening, which will help a little, but blankets, gloves, and layers are a good idea.
How to Prepare
Cover tender plants or bring potted plants inside tonight.
Bring pets indoors and make sure outdoor animals have shelter and unfrozen water.
Allow extra time Saturday morning to scrape frost off windshields.
Use space heaters safely: keep them at least three feet from anything that can burn and never leave them running unattended.
The dry stretch is not good news for the drought. The weather service said the dry conditions over the next week will likely make the current drought worse. Temperatures should warm gradually next week, with highs possibly approaching 70 in a few spots by the end of the week.
