A cold front pushing through southeast Louisiana will bring Arctic conditions to the area tonight. Wind chills on both sides of the lake will dip into the 20s while actual air temperatures north of the lake will drop below freezing.
"It's going to be a shock to the system," National Weather Service meteorologist Phil Grigsby said.
According to Grigsby, wind chills will dip into the 20s on both sides of the lake with parts of the Northshore seeing actual air temperatures dip below 32 degrees. That, Grigsby says, will cause problems for people and pets who remain outdoors in these conditions.
"It's not cold enough for frostbite really at this point, but you can start to see hypothermia and issues like that, and that can cause illness and, possibly, death."
Is this Arctic blast a sign of what type of winter we'll have? Grigsby says: not likely.
"It looks like it's going to be pretty average as far as the temperatures go," Grigsby said. "The average high is typically in the upper 50s and the lower 60s across the region, and the average low is typically in the low- to mid-40s."
While Grigsby says temperatures will mostly stay in that range, he says there is a good chance that we'll see another cold snap before spring arrives.
"There's definitely the potential for additional freezes as we go through the winter months here," Grigsby said. "It's something to be aware of as we enter this cooler time of year."
