A pandemic and record cold have combined to destroy the Mardi Gras party in and around New Orleans.
Typically Fat Tuesday sees some two million people partying in the streets of Southeast Louisiana. Today the streets are completely empty.
There are no parades, no parties, no Mardi Gras balls and no revelry at all.
Officials in New Orleans had already announced that any gatherings were banned in fears of another COVID super spreading event.
Authorities set up fences, barricades and checkpoints to keep people out of the French Quarter and other areas where they would typically get together to celebrate the holiday. Police threatened arrests and citations with $500 fines for anyone gathering. Bars in the entire city were ordered closed.
On top of all of that, Mother Nature, stepped in to shut things down.
Today is forecast to tie the record for the coldest Fat Tuesday ever. With a high of just 38 digress, you have to go back to 1899 to find a Mardi Gras day that was that cold.
Temperatures today started out in the low to mid 20s across the region with a hard freeze.
In addition to being a huge cultural loss for New Orleans and Louisiana, it is a massive financial blow to the economy.
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