The National Weather Service in Birmingham has issued a winter weather advisory for Marengo and Sumter counties for Thursday afternoon.

The advisory is in effect from 2-6 p.m. Thursday.

In the advisory, the weather service said a mixture of winter precipitation will move into the area Thursday afternoon. A band of rain, mixed with sleet and snow, is moving eastward across southern Mississippi and into southwest Alabama.

The heaviest precipitation will track across southwest Alabama, but the precipitation shield will extend far enough North to affect southern Marengo and Sumter counties, according to the NWS.

The precipitation may begin as a mixture of rain and sleet and then will transition to all snow for an hour or two. Accumulations of up to one-half inch are possible.

A winter weather advisory means that periods of snow and sleet will cause travel difficulties, according to the weather service.