Extreme Cold Update: Friday, December 23, 2022

Click HERE for an update concerning the Extreme and prolonged cold airmass persisting through Christmas Day.

Changes from the previous update:

  • Only change was to add a Small Craft Advisory after the Gale Warning expires. Otherwise, no major changes.

Overview:

WHAT: Extreme Cold and Prolonged Freeze along with Dangerous Wind Chills

WHEN: Now through Monday morning

WHERE: All of southeast LA, southwest MS, and coastal MS

CONFIDENCE: At this time confidence is very high that we will continue to experience a very cold possibly life-threatening setup. Hard freeze and prolonged below-freezing conditions are expected through at least Christmas Day before we start to moderate a little

Impacts:
Freeze/Hard Freeze:

  • Temperatures tonight are expected to be a little colder and will fall into the teens to mid-20s and are expected to do so again for Christmas morning. The airmass may moderate a little but another light to hard freeze is expected Monday morning.
  • Numerous locations along and north of the I-10/12 corridor will still experience around 60+ hours of freezing conditions through Tuesday morning. Locations south could see anywhere from 20 to almost 60 hours of freezing conditions.
  • These conditions could result in significant damage to unprotected pipes as well as citrus and other sensitive agricultural crops.

Wind Chill:

  • Wind chills in the single digits to lower teens are expected again tonight.
  • These dangerous wind chills can quickly lead to hypothermia and could be life-threatening for individuals and animals that are unable to find shelter and warm up.