Governor John Bel Edwards has declared a state of emergency as a result of this wicked winter weather. Edwards says 12-hundred DOTD employees have helped put one-point-five million pounds of salt on the roadways statewide. He says it is critical for everyone to stay off the frozen highways…
cut 12 (10) “…the hospital”
A volunteer firefighter in West Feliciana Parish was killed this morning while working a crash. And in Jefferson Parish, an eight-month-old was killed when a car slid into a Metairie canal. Her mother is in critical condition.

There’s still a couple of inches of snow on the ground in north Louisiana. C-S Ross with the National Weather Service says that snow will stick around for a couple of days….
cut 8 (10) “…low to mid 40s”

Parts of all major interstates in Louisiana are closed because of the icy conditions. Michelle Southern has more…
voicer 1 (32) “…reporting’

Thousands of SWEPCO customers do not have electricity. SWEPCO spokesperson Carey Sullivan says crews are working as quickly as possible to restore power, but can only work as fast as the weather allows…
cut 10 (11) “….restore power”

Governor John Bel Edwards has declared a state of emergency. Kelley Ray explains what that means.
Cut 2 (31) “I’m Kelley Ray.”

State Transportation spokesperson Rodney Mallett says some roads appear easier to travel than they actually are…
cut 14 (09) “…dangerous situation”

The state fire marshal’s office says a firefighter in West Feliciana Parish was killed in the line of duty last night. The fireman was working a wreck on U-S 61 north of St. Francisville when he was struck by vehicle. His name has not been released.

Record lows were set in Baton Rouge and New Orleans this morning. Baton Rouge got down to 14-degrees, shattering a 41-year-old record. CS Ross with the National Weather Service says Shreveport and Monroe each recorded lows of 12-degrees…
cut 7 (08) “…1982”
Another hard freeze is expected late tonight and into tomorrow morning.

The state of Louisiana feels more like a frozen tundra today as record breaking cold temperatures were hit. Chris Bannon with National Weather Service in Slidell says temperatures will get back above freezing this afternoon, but we’ll see another hard freeze tonight, which is not good for icy roads…:
Cut 6 (09) “over night”
State Police Senior Trooper Bryan Lee says based on the number of crashes they saw in a short period of time this morning, plenty of people can’t handle a vehicle on the ice…:
Cut 3 (11) “use caution”
This morning before 10am, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office says a woman and child suffered very serious injuries when their vehicle slid into a canal.

Governor John Bel Edwards has declared a State of Emergency due to the hazardous winter weather conditions. He says it’s imperative that people stay home since DOTD crews have a short time to get salt and deicing agents applied to prevent tonight’s cold temperatures to refreeze the roads…:
Cut 11 (10) “refreeze again”
He says to also check 5-1-1-L-A for the latest driving conditions.

Thousands are without power today. Many SWEPCO customers in northwest Louisiana are without electricity and heat. SWEPCO spokesperson Carey Sullivan says the heavy ice accumulation is the main cause of the power outages…:
Cut 9 (12) “our outages”
Sullivan says crews are working as quickly as possible to restore power.

Temperatures are in the teens to the low 20s across the state at this hour. Robert Megnia (meg-knee-a), with the National Weather Service in Lake Charles, says it feels even colder outside because of a north wind at about 10 miles per hour…
cut 30 (08) “…nine degrees”
And in case you are wondering, this is record breaking cold. Chris Bannon with National Weather Service says 40 year-old records were broken in Baton Rouge and New Orleans….
cut 5 (13) “….1977”
Governor Edwards has declared a state of emergency because of the dangerous winter conditions. Edwards says over 1.5 million pounds of salt has been distributed and 12-hundred D-O-T-D employees have been working around the clock.

Thousands are without power today. Many SWEPCO customers in northwest Louisiana are without electricity and heat. SWEPCO spokesperson Carey Sullivan says the heavy ice accumulation is the main cause of the power outages…
cut 9 (12) “…our outages”
Sullivan says crews are working as quickly as possible to restore the power, but the weather and slick roads are presenting a challenge.

UNO has conducted a poll to find who Louisiana voters would vote for in a hypothetical election between President Donald Trump and Oprah Winfrey. 60-percent of respondents said they would vote for Mr. Trump and UNO pollster Ed Chervenak says 36-percent of black voters support the President over Oprah. He says that’s because Louisiana leans conservative…
cut 6 (07) “….the state”

We’re experiencing some of the coldest temperatures of the season today, and several records have already been broken throughout the state. In New Orleans, the airport reached 20 degrees around 6am shattering a previous record of 23 degrees set on this day in 1977. The Baton Rouge Airport was 14 degrees around 7am, beating a record low of 18 degrees in 1977.

The roads are iced over and drivers are having a hard time getting around:
Cut 1 (31) “I’m Kelley Ray”

Iced roads and closed schools have many workers asking if they have to go to their jobs today. Baton Rouge Attorney Yigal Bander says if your boss threatens you with a pink slip for skipping work, he could fire you. But if you have a legal disability, and are fired today for not attending, you may have a legal recourse…:
Cut 9 (10) “have a case”

If a presidential election between Donald Trump and Oprah Winfrey actually happened, 60% of voters in Louisiana say they would vote for Mr. Trump. That’s according to a UNO Poll, and pollster Ed Chervenak who says white men and women had nearly identical levels of support for Mr. Trump, but the numbers were different among black voters…:
Cut 5 (10) “were split”
The poll was of 722 Louisiana voters.

The icy roads that are open are mostly empty throughout the state today, which is a good thing as most offices, including all government, schools and other businesses have closed their doors due to the winter weather. DOTD’s Rodney Mallett is reminding motorists that even though a slight warm up is expected later in the day, it doesn’t mean the roads won’t still be bad…:
CUT 16 (12) “thaw out”
He says it’s best to stay in unless you have to report to work.

And if your office is open today, your boss has a right to make you report despite road conditions. Baton Rouge Attorney Yigal Bander says Louisiana is employment at will which means outside of gender, race, religion and other protected areas; your boss can still release you if you don’t come in…:
Cut 8 (10) “at all”

A UNO poll shows President Donald Trump would handily beat Oprah Winfrey in a hypothetical Louisiana general election. Matt Doyle has more…:
Cut 2 (29) “I’m Matt Doyle”

Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell says taxpayers could save millions, if electric companies and cities convert to new energy efficient environmentally friendly streetlights…:
Cut 10 (10) “money back”

It’s hard to believe but Louisianians woke up to temperatures this morning in the single digits in the northern parishes, and in the teens further south. Lake Charles National Weather Service forecaster Robert Megnia (meg-knee-a) says the cold isn’t going anywhere for a couple of days…:
Cut 14 (07) “near 30″
After that, daytime highs will gradually climb the rest of the week, with highs reaching the 50s by Friday.

There are many roads that are closed this morning, including major interstates. For the routes that are open, ice is still a factor. Rodney Mallett with DOTD says they’ve been doing what they can with salt and brine.:
Cut 15 (08) “routes open”
He says it’s best to stay put today, but if you must be out be sure to check 511la.org for the most up-to-date information on road closures.

If your office isn’t closed this morning, are you still required to report for duty even though the roads are icy?
Cut 3 (28) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

Entergy Louisiana is reporting about 23,400 customers are without power throughout the state, the majority of those in the New Orleans area due to ice on power lines and icy tree limbs falling. But there are also many on the Northshore and Baton Rouge, Lake Charles and Northeast Louisiana areas who are in the dark this morning.