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.