BOTTOM LINE WEATHER POINTS
– Thousands without power and multiple accidents have been reported.
– Areas of southern Louisiana expected to get at least four inches of snow.
– Schools, businesses and government offices shut down in New Orleans.
– Thousands without power and multiple accidents have been reported.
– Areas of southern Louisiana expected to get at least four inches of snow.
– Schools, businesses and government offices shut down in New Orleans.
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New Orleans, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008. (AP Photo)People along the Gulf Coast are used to extreme weather, but Thursday morning, many woke up to something they usually only see on television, SNOW. Schools, businesses and government offices were shut down in the New Orleans area and parts of Mississippi as snow settled across the region.
Local officials are reporting widespread power outages and multiple traffic accidents as parts of Louisiana were expected to get up to four inches of snow. Nearly 7,000 power outages were reported in Louisiana as falling tree limbs snapped under the weight of ice and snow.
Snow also covered a broad swath of Mississippi, including the Jackson area, and closed schools in more than a dozen districts, according to the Associated Press. The National Weather Service in Jackson said up to 8 inches was possible in the southern and eastern parts of the state.
A heavy band of snow coated windshields and grassy areas in New Orleans, where the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning.
In Alabama, heavy rains prompted forecasters to issue a flood watch for parts of the state. Wintry precipitation also was possible later Thursday as temperatures
were expected to drop.
Flood watches were issued through Thursday night for much of North Carolina ahead of the storm system. Colder air behind the front could produce snow late Thursday and early Friday in the mountains.
