re: Louisiana Ice Storm Thread *Winter Storm Warning*

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I'm thinking of driving to my parents place in the morning near Alex as they have a whole home generator, so even if they lose power, we will be good

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Wrap hoses with rags and drip indoor faucets and open your attic (only if your power is still on)

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So irritating, when I got places to be.

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Meteorologist Nick Mikulas
Well that sure was an interesting storm. Thunderstorms, blinding sleet, and big fluffy snowflakes for some. Fortunately, the cold air won, and sleet and snow were the dominant precipitation types. Now we will likely experience the coldest night since the Arctic Blast of 1989. Many areas will fall into the single digits, and a light breeze has prompted a wind chill warning for wind chills as low as 5 below zero. I’m thinking we see a low around 8-12 in most areas, but a fresh sleet/snowpack means if we clear out a bit more, or if wind drops more than expected, we could see temperatures even colder than that. This is uncommon, and incredible cold, and You absolutely need to have the pets inside, do what you can to protect your plumbing, and cover any plants that are susceptible to this crazy cold.
Beyond this, another storm system rolls our way by Wednesday morning. Models are kind of all over the place, but I’m leaning toward the colder guidance for now as it easily won this last round. With fresh ice and snow on the ground, any warming of our temperatures will be a slow process. It looks like scattered freezing rain, potentially mixing with sleet early on, will develop from southwest to northeast on Wednesday morning. Temperatures will start near or below freezing across the area, and with the incredibly cold conditions leading up to this event, I expect everything to freeze on contact as the precipitation begins. When it gets tricky is around mid afternoon. We should see southern areas, south of a DeRidder to Oakdale to Bunkie line switch to a cold rain. A very cold rain in most cases. Models are really having trouble locking in on temperatures with the snow and sleet on the ground, and warmer air trying to make a run at our southern parishes. I think we will see significant enough ice to cause continued travel problems, and potentially some power outages as moderate freezing rain falls. The most likely area to stay at or below freezing through the whole event is roughly north of a Leesville to Alexandria to Jonesville line. I should be able to refine this more by tomorrow morning, but it does appear that a significant winter storm is once again likely for at least the northern half of Central Louisiana. This one could bring the power outages, which we mostly missed last night. I’ll go parish by parish in the morning after I can see how models handle the freshly fallen wintry stuff from last night. Stay tuned… Again.

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