Winter Weather Update: Saturday 7 AM

Comments from Jay Grymes

The NWS offices serving the state provide the federal weather expertise and are staffed 24/7.  A special thanks to NWS/Slidell for their statewide guidance.

Temperatures dipped below freezing across NW Louisiana around midnight … although UL-Monroe Mesonet sites suggest that ground temps remain above freezing thus far.  It won’t be long, however, before elevated roads in northern LA start falling to 32° and below.

Confidence is “HIGH” that dangerous winter weather will be developing across the northern third to northern half of Louisiana this weekend … beginning later today.  The one bit of good news is that the onset of freezing rain appears to be delayed.  That too, however, is only a matter of time.

Ice accumulations could still achieve 0.5″ up to 1.0″ (or more) along and near the I-20 corridor, with glazing in spots likely to extend south of Alexandria.  In a “reasonable worst case” scenario (10% chance or less, therefore very unlikely), minimal icing could extend as far south as the I-10 corridor from the LA/TX line to the Atchafalaya Basin and eastward into metro Baton Rouge.

Up to an inch or more of snow is possible/likely to fall on top of that ice across a swath of northern parishes, further insulating and extending the duration of the ice glaze well into next week.  Measurable amounts of snow are not expected south of Alexandria.

North Louisiana temperatures are likely to remain below freezing until mid-day Tuesday and only run above freezing for a few hours on that day.  If/where the snow cover persists, that could mean little to no relief for areas with ice accumulations until Wednesday.  Power outages, water pressure issues, and other infrastructure problems are possible-to-likely for communities in the northern half of the state, especially in some of the more rural areas.

Please feel free to call with questions.

Courtesy:

Local NWS offices serving Louisiana: SHV, JAN, LCH & LIX

NWS Weather Prediction Center

UL-Monroe “Louisiana Mesonet”

GOHSEP & LSU