New Orleans could get snow again this weekend
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A snowman sits in front of the St. Louis Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025, during a rare snowstorm in New Orleans. Photo: Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images
New Orleans has a chance of snow this weekend, nearly a year after a historic snowstorm dropped about a foot of snow in Southeast Louisiana.
Why it matters: Mardi Gras snowmen are fun to make, but the region's infrastructure isn't equipped to handle extreme winter weather.
The big picture: New Orleans has a 23% chance of snow Saturday night, says Mike Efferson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Slidell.
- The chances are higher in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.
- Big difference this year from last: It's going to be too warm in New Orleans for anything to stick, Efferson says.
What they're watching: NWS forecasters say a strong cold front will push through Saturday.
- Temperatures will be near or below freezing Saturday night through Sunday morning.
- One of the possible weather scenarios has moisture mixing with freezing temps, resulting in snow. Another scenario keeps the rain further south over the Gulf.
- It's a "really fine line" if New Orleans gets any frozen precipitation or not, Efferson says.
Timing: If it does snow, it will most likely be between midnight and 4am Sunday.
- And, it would be a mix of rain, sleet and snow flurries, Efferson says.
Zoom out: Ice won't be a problem on roads and bridges with the current forecast.
- "Nothing remotely close to last year," Efferson says.
- Last year's snowstorm shut down metro New Orleans for about a week as leaders hired snowplows from other states to de-ice and salt the roads and airport runways.
- It also caused pipes to burst, leading to water-conservation requests in Jefferson and Orleans parishes.
The bottom line: Stay weather aware this weekend. Snowfall is rare, but as the city saw last year, it's absolutely possible.