It seemed that it took forever for the colder weather to finally arrive — remember those 70-degree temperatures at Christmas? —  but it finally appears winter is here with the first significant snowfall forecast for Friday in Lafayette County.

We could get up to six inches of the white fluffy stuff tomorrow. The latest from the Nation Weather Service indicates Oxford to be in the target area for snow that will accumulate.

Lafayette County Emergency Management Director David Shaw and county officials are monitoring the situation today and more updates are expected as the event nears.

And while most of us will enjoy seeing the rare occurrence of snowflakes falling from the sky and building snowmen and throwing snowballs, please keep in mind this could also cause a hazardous situation for those who have not experienced the winter precipitation on a regular basis. Temperatures are expected to drop down into the 20s overnight Friday and Saturday, which will likely cause icing on roadways.

Have fun, but we encourage you to be careful out there.