South Louisiana is experiencing weather conditions normally reserved for the northern half of the United States. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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Louisiana’s highway system is no match for this historic winter storm. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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South Louisiana is experiencing weather conditions normally reserved to regions of the country much farther north. LSU Public Health Climatologist Barry Keim says areas of South Louisiana are being blanketed by snow not seen in decades.
Cut 3 (11) “…seven in Slidell.”
On the rare occasion that it snows in South Louisiana, the snow will stick to the ground for maybe a few hours. This time, it will linger for a few days. Keim says that’s because overnight lows will be bone-chillingly cold.
Cut 4 (10) “…but still frigid.”
While those temperatures are certainly cold, they’re not record-breakers. Keim points to the December 1989 storm in which it got down into the single digits in some places. If these brutal temperatures are too much for you to handle, Keim says take solace in the fact that they will return to normal by this weekend.
Cut 5 (09) “…in certain locations.”
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State officials are urging people to stay off the roads as this rare snow event is making travel very difficult. Governor Jeff Landry suggests that you cook yourself a big pot of gumbo instead…
Not only is there multiple inches of snow in south Louisiana and into the Alexandria area, but we are looking at cold temperatures. The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness is urging the public to practice space heater safety. GOHSEP chief of staff Scott Adams…
Adams says it’s best to hunker down and stay at home today and make sure your house can handle these cold temperatures…
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State Department of Transportation officials are on the highways in south Louisiana and the driving experience is very difficult. DOTD spokesperson Rodney Mallett says on some roadways, you can’t see the curb or the edge of the street or the highway…
Mallett says visibility is also difficult when the snow is falling, it’s certainly very unique to Louisiana…
Mallett says several major roads and bridges are closed…
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It’s completely understandable that drivers in Louisiana are not used to these road conditions. State Police Trooper Marc Gremillion (GREM-ee-ahn) says they’ve had to respond to a lot of vehicles that had slid off the roadway.
Cut 12 (11) “…struck from behind.”
Gremillion says not only do you need to greatly reduce your speed, you’ll also need to adjust the way you come to a stop.
And if you start skidding, stay calm and by all means, do not steer away from the skid initially.