United Ways Across Mississippi Respond to Winter Storm Fern Impact Story United Ways Across Mississippi Respond to Winter Storm Fern By Naette Yoko Lee Share this naette.lee Wed, 02/18/2026 - 14:57 When Winter Storm Fern hit Mississippi, the impact wasn't the same everywhere. Some areas saw a few days of power outages. Others endured bitter cold, frozen pipes, collapsed water systems, and infrastructure failures that lasted for weeks. This is the story of several United Ways in Mississippi that helped their communities respond where the storm hit hardest, not just with information or funding, but with hands-on coordination, local trust, and community-led care.   United Way of Oxford-Lafayette County Kurt Brummett, Executive Director of United Way of Oxford-Lafayette County, saw early that this storm would stretch the community. "There was no way to fully prepare given the widespread impact," he said. "Roads were blocked or untravellable. Water systems were shut down. Cell phone service was limited.…