A winter storm system pummeled south Louisiana with frigid winds and freezing temperatures Tuesday as snow blanketed New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette.
Snow started to fall before sunrise across much of the southern half of the state, and the New Orleans French Quarter was blanketed by 7 a.m. By 11 a.m., at least 1-3 inches of snow had already accumulated across much of south Louisiana, with some areas reporting even more.
The day’s snowfall led to road and school closures, pleas from city and parish officials to stay home and more. Here’s the latest.
Snowmelt not a concern for drainage
Tuesday’s snowfall in New Orleans may be of historic proportion, but it doesn’t pose any major challenge to the city’s beleaguered drainage system, according to Ghassan Korban, executive director of the Sewerage and Water Board.
Korban said there is typically a 10-to-1 ratio of snowfall inches to snow melt inches, meaning the enormous piles of snow building up around the city …