Overview:
WHAT:
- Heavy snow and light icing leading to major travel impacts
- Extreme Cold
WHEN:
- Winter Precipitation: – Early Tuesday morning through Tuesday evening
- Bitterly Cold Temperatures: – Tonight through much of the work week
WHERE:
- All of southeast LA and southern Mississippi.
CONFIDENCE:
- Cold Temperatures: We are very confident that cold temps and dangerously cold wind chills will occur tonight through Thursday. Prolonged temperatures at or below freezing will occur for much of the area as well.
- Winter Precipitation: Medium – High Confidence that most of the region will see snow and major impacts to travel will occur.
Impacts:
Cold Temperatures and Wind Chills:
- Extended duration of freezing (and hard freeze) conditions are expected for 4 consecutive nights beginning tonight. Some places may not rise above freezing at all Tuesday.
- It is emphasized to protect the 4 P’s during the several days of cold weather:
- People: Check on the elderly & other vulnerable people to make sure they are adequately prepared.
- Pets: Keep your pets warm, indoors if possible. Ensure they have access to warm shelter, food and unfrozen water
- Pipes: Insulate exposed pipes using layers of towels/sheets/plastic bags/etc, open up sink cabinets and disconnect hoses.
- Plants: Cover sensitive vegetation, or bring inside if possible.
- Wind chills in the single digits (along and north of I-10/12) and teens (south of I-10/12) are forecast and can lead to hypothermia rapidly for those without warm shelter.
Winter Precipitation:
- Moderate to major impacts to daily life are likely
- Generally 2-6″ of snow is forecast for areas north of I-10/12 with 1-5″ south of the I-10/12 corridor
- A light glaze (less than one tenth of an inch) of ice is also forecast with only minor impacts.
- Expect rapid accumulations of ice/snow on all roads as wintry precipitation arrives, especially elevated roads, as they will already be cold.
- Snow will be slow to melt on Wednesday as temperatures will only rise above freezing for a short period. Additionally, any snow melt that doesn’t evaporate during the afternoon will refreeze Wednesday night as temperatures quickly drop below freezing again in the evening. Some shady areas (especially eastbound lanes of Interstates 12 and 10, etc.) will hold on to the ice/snow longer, and these areas will likely still be impassable/hazardous for driving Wednesday into possibly into Thursday morning
The attached briefing highlights the threats associated with this system.
For detailed information regarding hourly temperatures and duration of freezing temperatures, please refer to this location specific website. Simply click your area of interest on the map and the charts below the map will update with the latest forecast information for your selected location.
