The Arctic Blast is expected to arrive late Sunday night into early Monday morning. Even though the chance of ice in the New Orleans Metro is slim, forecasters are urging locals to be prepared.
"The better chance for that may be on the Northshore, but we're keeping an eye on that, and people should monitor road conditions come Monday morning," National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Gilmore said. "With the rain Saturday and Sunday, the grounds will be wet, and the cold air comes into the area early Monday morning, which could cause a couple of slippery spots."
Gilmore says the ice storm will say well away from New Orleans.
"The better chance for freezing rain--rain that's falling from the sky when the surface is 32 degrees or colder--is going to be north of Baton Rouge."
Gilmore says residents of the New Orleans metro and of the Northshore should prepare for frigid conditions to stick around for a few days. That includes taking precautions to protect themselves and their pets, plants, and pipes.
"We're talking about hard freeze conditions: temperatures in the low- to mid-20s Monday morning with wind chills in the single digits Monday morning," Gilmore said. "It may take awhile (to warm up). It's going to be cold again Wednesday morning. Lows are going to be near 30, and then it'll warm up a little bit, but I use the term 'warm' loosely because we'll have highs back into the 50s."
Gilmore says forecasters are also watching another system that could bring another round of Arctic air to Louisiana in the next seven to 10 days, but he says it's too early to tell if we'll see another freeze after this one.