If you thought this morning was cold, just wait for tomorrow.
According to the National Weather Service, temperatures will dip into the low- to mid-20s across Southeastern Louisiana. Some parts of the Northshore could see temperatures as low as the teens. A hard freeze warning remains in effect through 10 a.m. Wednesday.
With that hard freeze warning in place, local leaders are urging residents to stay warm and to stay home.
"People just really need to stay in in the mornings when it's really cold," New Orleans emergency preparedness head Colin Arnold told WWL's Tommy Tucker. Arnold, St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper, and Jefferson Parish Chief Administrative Officer Sarah Babcock, all urge people to avoid travelling while temperatures are below freezing and roads are icy.
St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper told WWL's Tommy Tucker that residents across Southeast Louisiana need to be ready to stay indoors for an extended period of time.
"Take a snow day on this one," Arnold said.
"We're still encouraging our citizens to stay off our roadways," Cooper said of the possibility of frozen roads on Wednesday morning.
"Stay home," Babcock said.
Meanwhile, Arnold, Cooper, and Babcock are urging residents to practice fire safety while keeping themselves warm during this Arctic blast.
Babcock say residents using space heaters need to plug them directly into a wall outlet and keep them away from bedsheets and other flammable items.
"We also want to make sure that people are not heating their homes using their ovens," Babcock said. "That's really dangerous."
Cooper reminds residents to check their fireplaces to make sure they're in working order before lighting them. He also urged residents to keep flammable items away from open flames.
"They need to be away from all sorts of fabric," Cooper said. "You don't want to keep them running too long."
Arnold added that people who will be using generators during power outages need to make sure they're using those devices safely.
"You gotta be very aware of carbon monoxide poisoning, where your setting up your generator, where the exhaust is going, and the like," Arnold said.
All three leaders say in the event of an emergency, call 911.
