LAFAYETTE, La. − Portions of the Gulf Coast saw a first-ever blizzard warning, a wide swath of the South was targeted by a major winter storm, and brutal cold temperatures gripped much of the nation Tuesday as the U.S. grappled with wild winter weather.
Stacey Denson, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Lake Charles, told USA TODAY the blizzard warning was a first for Louisiana. A blizzard warning means frequent wind gusts to 35 mph and snow reducing visibilities to 1/4 mile or less is expected.
“It was pretty crazy to see,” Denson said. “It is actually improving a bit, but we had whiteout conditions.”
The blizzard warning expired for all of Louisiana as of noon CDT, but a winter storm warning remained in effect until Wednesday.
In Lafayette, 70 miles east of Lake Charles, Mayor-President Monique Blanco Boulet said residents should expect to stay home for the next few days, that the approaching storm represents a weather event unlike anything the city has ever experienced.
“We are prepared for hurricanes, we have all the equipment we need, we know what we need,” Boulet said. “This is going to be different. We don’t necessarily have snow equipment to deal with what we have coming.”
The storm was on a track to sweep through Texas and Louisiana, across the Gulf Coast and deep into Florida, significant snow and ice in tow. Some areas being slammed by the storm haven’t seen frozen storms in decades.
Denson said snow is rare in Louisiana and that it is even more rare to have the unrelenting cold required to keep it from quickly melting. The cold front was not expected to release its grip until Thursday, so hazardous road conditions won’t be gone soon. The weather service message to residents was simple: “Do not travel. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you.”
“We don’t really have any snowplows,” Denson said. “Our neighboring state (Arkansas) sent plows down to help us out.”
State Climatologist Jay Grymes said widespread snow accumulations of 4-10 inches are expected. Cities such as Baton Rouge, Lafayette and New Orleans are in the path of the storm.
“The impacts there are going to be crippling,” Grymes said. “Louisiana, this is definitely happening.”
Elsewhere, temperatures in many areas from the interior West through the Midwest and up and down the East Coast were 20 degrees below normal, even for the dead of winter.
And in Southern California, another round of Santa Ana winds racing through the smoldering fires of Greater Los Angeles − combined with dry conditions − drew new concerns.
Wind chills 55 below: Snow and ice in Florida? Extreme cold invading US
Developments:
∎ Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey proclaimed a state of emergency for 39 counties and ordered the National Guard to prepare for activation. The weather service office in Mobile posted video of heavy snow with about an inch already covering the ground and vehicles.
∎ In Georgia, Savannah and its surrounding area are under a winter storm warning issued by the National Weather Service beginning Tuesday night at 5 and lasting until noon Wednesday. The forecast called for “heavy mixed precipitation.”
Snow falls on Chartres Street in the French Quarter on Jan. 21, 2025, in New Orleans.
Storm could be ‘historic’ for North Florida
North Florida wa bracing for what has the potential to be one of the most impactful winter storms in Gulf Coast history.
“This is going to be a historic storm any way you slice the cake,” WeatherTiger meteorologist Ryan Truchelut wrote in a forecast for the USA TODAY NETWORK “But the worst impacts will be if the majority of precipitation falls as a freezing rain that ices over surfaces like roads, powerlines, and trees that have been repeatedly pulled this way and that in the past decade by hurricanes, tornadoes, and severe thunderstorms.”
Rare snow in Louisiana is a thrill for some
For 21-year-old meteorology student Gabriel Hebert, a once-in-a-lifetime winter storm in his hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana, isn’t just a snow day, but a great learning opportunity.
“I’m so thrilled,” he told USA TODAY. “This is my favorite kind of weather.”
Hebert had been monitoring the storm for a few days, staying up late to track snowfall. In preparation, his family left open their cabinets to prevent pipes from freezing, have all agreed to stay off the roads and stocked up on essential food for the days ahead.
“We don’t know how to prepare for anything like this,” Hebert said. As the snow fell and his family bunkered down, his young siblings relished the first. “I just want to enjoy this time with my family, watching them make snow angels and snowmen,” he said.
− Sam Woodward
Flights canceled as airlines struggle with storm
The winter storm was upending travel plans across the Southeast. Winter storm warnings were in effect from Texas through the Carolinas, according to the National Weather Service. As of 9:45 a.m. ET almost 2,000 U.S. flights had been canceled, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. That includes one in five United Airlines flights and more than one in 10 Southwest Airlines flights, the bulk of which were canceled Monday ahead of the storm’s impact.
More than 90% of flights out of George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport in Houston and nearly 90% of flights out of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport are canceled. Read more here.
− Zach Wichter and Eve Chen
What are your rights? What happens when your flight is delayed or canceled?
Storm shuts down University of Texas
In Texas, Austin residents awoke to falling snow and temperatures below freezing. The total snow and sleet forecast for the area that includes San Antonio, 80 miles to the south, ranged from a dusting up to 1 1/2 inches − with hazardous ice accumulations of one-tenth of an inch. The forecast was enough for all Central Texas school districts − including the Austin district − the University of Texas and Texas State University to shut down Tuesday.
Outside of his home in the Travis Heights neighborhood, Gail Armstrong prepared for the cold by replacing the propane in the trailer in front of his house. And he said he’s concerned about road conditions.
“People don’t know diddly about driving on snow and ice,” Armstrong said.
− Keri Heath and Ella McCarthy, Austin American-Statesman
Single digit temperatures coming to Mississippi
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for Central and South Mississippi through Wednesday. Gov. Tate Reeves declared a State of Emergency ahead of the storm. Schools, businesses and city governments announced closures ahead of the snowfall.
“South Mississippi is still expected to get the highest amounts with up to 4 inches of snow,” the state Emergency Management Agency reported. “We encourage everyone to stay off the roads once the snow starts to fall as roads will become dangerous.”
The entire state will see temperatures plunge. Oxford is forecast to have a low of 8 degrees Wednesday morning while Jackson should see a low of 13 degrees,forecasters said. On the Mississippi Coast, temperatures in Biloxi are expected to drop to 17 degrees. Read more here.
− Lici Beveridge, Mississippi Clarion Ledger
Winter punch in Louisiana could be ‘crippling’ to travel
Southern Louisiana is facing a winter weather event the likes of which hasn’t been seen since the 1960s. Snow accumulations could create “crippling” travel conditions along the Interstate 10 and Interstate 12 corridors, Gov. Jeff Landry and other state officials warned. Landry declared a weather emergency and ordered state offices closed Tuesday.
Northern Louisiana cities from Shreveport to Ruston to Monroe will likely be spared snow and ice, but every corner of the state will suffer frigid temperatures that could impact water supplies and create power outages, forecasters said.
“Most people in (southern Louisiana) haven’t experienced this combination of snow and bitter cold in our lifetimes,” Grymes said during the governor’s news conference. Read more here.
− Greg Hilburn, Shreveport Times
Louisiana faces crippling snowstorm: From New Orleans to Baton Rouge
School closings sweep nation with wintry weather
Hundreds of school districts shut down across much of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida as the storm began its assault on the region. But schools in some other states were still struggling because of an earlier storm that hit much of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states over the weekend. Scores of school districts in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia delayed their openings.
And in the Midwest, many districts were closed because of the intense cold. In Wisconsin, residents of Green Bay awoke to a temperature of minus 12 degrees. The wind chill was minus 31. That was a bit too much, even for Green Bay.
“The Green Bay Area Public School District will be closed on January 21, 2025, due to severe weather,” the district posted on its website. “There will be no after-school or evening activities.”
Southern cities face rare wintry slam
Major Southern cities facing a wintry hit include Austin, San Antonio and Houston; New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Jackson and Biloxi, Mississippi; Mobile, Alabama; Savannah, Georgia; and Pensacola, Tallahassee and Jacksonville, Florida, AccuWeather warned.
New Orleans hasn’t seen measurable snowfall in 16 years. It has been 35 years for Jacksonville. Scores of school districts in Texas canceled classes for Tuesday and may not reopen Wednesday.
In California, San Diego County now battling fires
Powerful Santa Ana winds fueled the rapid spread of wildfires in San Diego County early Tuesday, prompting evacuations as officials in Los Angeles remained on high alert amid high winds and relentless dry conditions.
At least three fires broke out in northern San Diego County overnight, including the Pala and Lilac fires, which grew to encompass about 30 acres each with 0% containment. Another brush fire, dubbed the Riverview Fire, burned about one acre of land before firefighters halted its forward progress, according to Cal Fire, the state’s firefighting agency. Read more here.
− Christopher Cann
Traveling? Be prepared for road closures
At least 4 to 6 inches of snow are possible from southeastern Texas into southern Louisiana, according to the weather service, while lighter portions of snow may fall along the Florida Panhandle to the beaches of the Carolinas. Wintry precipitation is expected to cause power outages, flight delays or cancellations and disrupt travel especially on area highways, the service warned.
“If you must travel, be prepared for road closures and the possibility of being stranded (so stock your vehicle with water, food, and warm clothing),” the National Weather Service in Houston wrote on X. Read more here.
− Anthony Robledo
Santa Ana winds threaten again: Firefighters labor to douse Los Angeles blazes
In California, here come the winds
In Southern California, where a rash of fires killed more than two dozen people and destroyed thousands of homes this month, the winds that fueled those blazes are returning. For the mountains and foothills, northeast winds will reach 35 to 50 mph with widespread gusts of 60 to 80, the National Weather Service warned.
Isolated gusts of 80 to 100 mph are possible in most wind-prone mountain locations, such as the San Gabriels, Santa Susanas, western Santa Monicas and southern Ventura mountains, the weather service said. For the coasts and valleys, northeast to east winds increasing to 25 to 40 mph with damaging gusts of 50 to 70 mph are possible.
“Damaging winds could blow down trees and power lines,” the weather service said in its high wind warning. “Widespread power outages are possible. Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Parts of Gulf Coast get first-ever blizzard warning as storm moves in
