The New Orleans area and Southeast Louisiana will feel one of the coldest weekends since March of 2015, with multiple cold weather advisories in place. The Winter Weather Advisory in place through midnight Friday affects our parishes mainly north of I-12 for the possibility of freezing rain and sleet. This is not likely to amount to enough to cause road problems, but officials have sanded roads as a precaution.
As the moisture heads out, the cold becomes the headline. A Wind Chill Advisory is in place from 9 PM Friday through 10 AM Saturday, and with a North wind gusting up to 30 mph at times, it will feel like the teens for much of this time period. Actual high temperatures will struggle to hit 40 on Saturday across the region, and parts of the North shore may not get out of the 30s.
A Hard Freeze Warning is in effect for the North Shore and river parishes, which means there will be temperatures in the 20s for potentially 12 hours or more. If you have old or unprotected pipes it would be a good idea to put all faucets on a very light drip during this time to prevent freezing. All outdoor animals and livestock should also be given shelter, and dogs and cats brought inside. They feel the Wind Chill the same way humans do. Bring all plants inside that you can and cover outdoor grounded ones that could be damaged by cold.
A Freeze Warning is in effect for the South shore from midnight through 9 AM Saturday, with temperatures expected between 27-30 degrees for up to 9 hours.
Saturday evening winds will subside so there will not likely be any Wind Chill Advisories, however with clear skies and winds calming down temperatures will actually be colder Saturday night into Sunday, so expect more Freeze Warnings to be issued over the weekend. Highs on Sunday will reach the upper 40s.
We will return to the 60s and even 70s by early next week!