Officials in Louisiana are preparing for the arrival of snow, with crews already working to treat roadways along the interstate ahead of Tuesday night’s storm. New Orleans hasn’t experienced measurable snowfall since 2009. FOX Weather Storm Specialist Mike Seidel is reporting live from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with the latest updates on the developing situation.
NEW ORLEANS – A historic and dangerous winter storm stretching over 1,500 miles is blanketing the southern U.S. with heavy snow, including areas of southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana under Blizzard Warnings.
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A video recorded in Amarillo, Texas, shows a snow squall blowing through on Monday leading to whiteout conditions.
The setup for getting snow along the immediate Gulf Coast is never easy, but the FOX Forecast Center noted that this is potentially one of the most pristine setups in recent memory.
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Even though the snow and ice totals will be meager by northern standards, the FOX Forecast Center said they would lead to paralyzing impacts across the region. Parts of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi – paralleling the Interstate 10 corridor – could see more than 5 inches of snow on Tuesday, while most other locations will receive 1-2 inches.
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Northern Florida and parts of southern Georgia are in for potentially a bigger mess.
As the low-pressure system moves off to the east and strengthens, warm air will be pulled in over the Southeast. With that warmer air aloft, snowflakes will begin to melt as they fall from the sky and will then have the opportunity to refreeze at the surface as freezing rain.
Currently, the FOX Forecast Center expects anywhere from 0.10-0.25 inches of ice accretion.
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Winter weather alerts are in effect for eight states from the U.S.–Mexico border in Texas through North Carolina, which includes several major metropolitan areas.
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Nearly every state this system will impact is under a state of emergency, with Florida being the latest state under declaration. Tallahassee and Jacksonville in northern Florida are both under Winter Storm Warnings.
Florida A&M University announced it would switch to virtual learning at the Tallahassee campus after 3 p.m. Tuesday. The campus will be closed Wednesday.
Panama City Beach officials announced the closure of administrative offices on Tuesday and Wednesday. Essential and emergency personnel will remain on duty to ensure public safety.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry issued a state of emergency to enable direct state assistance to local parishes in ensuring resident safety. State offices in Louisiana will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday because of the winter storm. The city of New Orleans has been included in a Winter Storm Warning – only the second time on record for Orleans Parish.
Parts of interstates 55, 10 and 12 in Louisiana are closed until further notice due to hazardous winter conditions.
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The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority has already suspended service on Tuesday. This comes as the Louisiana Department of Transportation works to pretreat state roads and highways as authorities urge people to stay off the roads if possible.
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With snow quickly accumulating, crews from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Arkansas Department of Transportation are working to remove snow on I-49 on and off ramps from I-10 to I-190.
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Louisiana State University has also closed its physical campus but said classes would continue in a format determined by each instructor.