Thunderstorms will develop Sunday across Oklahoma and parts of eastern Texas. The Sunday system will be the precursor to a more active period Tuesday and Wednesday. Computer models are showing with high confidence the classic ingredients for widespread severe weather coming together for Northern Louisiana into the Mississippi Delta.
NEW ORLEANS – A powerful storm system that is expected to sweep across the Southern Plains and Southeast will head towards the Gulf Coast, raising concerns about its impact on Mardi Gras celebrations.
Mardi Gras is a celebration held in and around New Orleans that concludes before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.
While some parades during the month-long celebration have already been impacted by wet weather, attention is now focused on Tuesday’s events, which kick off around 8 a.m.
As long as the storm system’s timing doesn’t change, parades on March 4 are expected to proceed without any major disruptions, according to event organizers.
(FOX Weather)
They do advise spectators to bring their rain gear just in case showers or thunderstorms move into the area earlier than anticipated.
The National Weather Service’s New Orleans office has created a special web page dedicated to Mardi Gras weather updates and expects the most significant chance of rain to occur between 6 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday.
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Fortunately, the timing will allow most Mardi Gras festivities to conclude, but the impactful weather moves in.
While about a third of all Mardi Gras events typically see rainfall, locals don’t recall a single instance of Fat Tuesday being postponed or canceled due to weather.
Climatological data shows that the rainiest Mardi Gras day occurred on March 1, 1927, when 2.12 inches of precipitation fell, and nearly a third of events experienced some rainfall.
Mardi Gras weather extremes
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City officials and organizers are closely monitoring the forecast, but at this point, the spirits that watch over the Big Easy may allow the festivities to go off without a hitch.
According to locals, major sites around New Orleans tend to close early on Tuesday evening as the city shifts into clean-up mode in preparation for Ash Wednesday.
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Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, occurs after Mardi Gras and is a day many Christians attend church.
Unlike Easter, most services are held well after sunrise, meaning the worst of the weather will likely have passed through the New Orleans metro area and moved off to the north and east.
Once the cold front moves through, Wednesday is expected to turn pleasant, with highs around 70 degrees and plenty of sunshine.
NEW ORLEANS – FEBRUARY 20: Floats in the Rex parade roll along St. Charles avenue on Mardi Gras Day, February 20, 2007 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This is the second Mardi Gras celebration since Hurricane Katrina devasted the Gulf Coast region.
(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images / Getty Images)