JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Officials with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) said a second weather-related death has been reported.

According to MEMA, the death due to the extreme cold was reported by the Sharkey County Emergency Management Office.

Sharkey County Coroner Robert Barfield said the man, 32-year-old Stefan Thompson, of Rolling Fork, appeared to have died from hypothermia. The coroner believes Thompson was walking during the winter storm and ended up in the field near an elementary school.

Thompson was staying with relatives at the time of his death.

The first weather-related death was due to a traffic accident that was reported by the Humphreys County Emergency Management Office.

MEMA officials said the dangerous cold is expected to continue throughout the week in portions of the state. They encourage people to conserve energy as power crews work to restore the current outages.

Ways to conserve energy include:

• Lower your thermostat to 68 degrees during the day and 58 degrees when you are away from home where safe to do so.
• Reduce shower and bath time to conserve hot water use.
• Operate clothes washer, dryer, and dishwasher only when fully loaded
• Unplug unused appliances

Neighbors who need to warm up may seek shelter at a county or city-run warming center in your area. The full list of those shelters and safe rooms is online.