The New Orleans area began digging out from the worst snowfall to hit the region in more than a century on Wednesday, with the euphoria of the once-in-a-lifetime storm melting away and feverish work pressing ahead to clear dangerously icy roads and reopen for business.
Tuesday's storm left residents in near disbelief as the snow kept falling. Up to 10 inches were reported in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish, as well as 11.5 inches in Chalmette, leaving roofs, yards and vehicles buried.
It was the region's first significant snowfall since December 2009, and the eventual totals rivaled a Valentine's Day storm in 1895 as the biggest on record.
Residents took full advantage, breaking out snowboards, skis, makeshift sleds and their warmest gloves to build snowmen as the flakes fell throughout most of Tuesday, often blown diagonally by sharp winds. The snowfall, which ended in the early evening, was also powdery and relatively dry, providing the type of winter playground that many New Orleanians had only seen on television.
But it also shut down the region, and major roads remained closed Wednesday, particularly Interstate 10 in much of the state, including from LaPlace to Slidell, as well as the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. The state Department of Transportation said one lane of the Crescent City Connection had reopened in both directions on Wednesday afternoon, but the city cautioned that the bridge approaches may remain risky.
The first signs of melt were occurring on Wednesday under sunny, cloudless skies, though it was expected to be a slow, gradual process, with temperatures only briefly rising above freezing in some areas and not at all in others.
Temperatures were forecast to plummet again overnight. That could prove especially dangerous as slushy roads freeze again, turning streets into slick ice rinks.
The arctic conditions were also life-threatening for those without shelter, and frostbite and hypothermia were potential risks for those outside without proper gear and clothing.
Local and state officials were urging residents to stay off roads as crews worked to clear them. Schools and government offices were to remain closed through Thursday, and a Pelicans-Bucks game scheduled for Wednesday evening was postponed.
"Crews are working hard to clear the roadways," Gov. Jeff Landry said on X on Wednesday morning, ahead of a 4 p.m. news conference. "Please refrain from driving unless absolutely necessary to help keep everyone safe."
From beads to snow
New Orleans, unaccustomed to dealing with such mounds of snow and ice, secured an emergency, 48-hour contract with Indiana-based Sherco Group Inc. for 14 snow plows, with the possibility of extending. The city also hired IV Waste to help clear snow from the French Quarter and downtown, using its front-end loaders typically employed to deal with Mardi Gras beads.
By mid-afternoon on Wednesday, a list of major thoroughfares had been plowed and some, including the Pontchartrain Expressway, would need to be passed over again because of re-freezing, said Collin Arnold, the city's emergency preparedness director.
"We're going to continue just fighting this as much as we can," Arnold said at a news conference, also noting the need to limit delays in roadwork that crews have been rushing to finish ahead of the Super Bowl on Feb. 9.
He said that he expected to see "significant ability to move around" by Thursday evening, with the sunny weather helping, but he stressed that residents should continue to stay home until conditions were safe. The state Department of Transportation and Development was dealing with I-10, and that was not expected to be reopened in the New Orleans area until Thursday.
Jefferson Parish had secured a half-a-dozen snow plows through an emergency contract with Sherco as well.
At the airport, all departing flights were canceled on Wednesday and only some late-night arriving flights could operate. Airlines will continue to evaluate if additional cancellations will occur Thursday. Parts of the airport had been plowed, but not the runways yet since they required different type of blades for the work, said Arnold.
The frigid temperatures led New Orleans officials to open a third emergency warming center at the St. Bernard Recreation Center. Over 200 people stayed at emergency shelters at The Rosenwald Recreation Center on Broad Street and the Treme Recreation Community Center on North Villere Street Tuesday night.
The cold was also a test for a new shelter set up by the state in Gentilly to house those who had been living near tourist areas around the Superdome and French Quarter ahead of the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras. Ahead of the storm, there had been concerns about keeping the building warm.
With the snow beginning to melt, some drivers were taking to the roads despite advice to the contrary. State Police had responded to more than 50 weather-related accidents statewide on Tuesday and warned Wednesday that "melting snow is causing slick, messy conditions that can be hard to spot until it's too late."
Most law enforcement agencies in the New Orleans area said they did not field any reports of major traffic crashes or injuries on Tuesday after residents heeded warnings to stay home.
In St. Tammany, the parish helped DOTD open single lanes on major roadways for first responders. With no snow plows available, the parish repurposed a vehicle used to repair roads and drainage, called a skid steer, to clear the snow.
But Parish President Mike Cooper said citizens should remain at home both Wednesday and Thursday, as the roads are "still in a frozen state."
Frozen pipes were also an issue. It was too soon to know how much damage had occurred, but the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board said residents should continue to run a spaghetti-size stream of water through the faucet farthest from the meter during freezing temperatures.
S&WB officials reported a drop in water pressure due to higher consumption as residents dripped faucets. Pressure had also dropped because of isolated breaks in water mains, Ghassan Korban, the S&WB executive director, said in an interview.
Korban said the problems have been more limited than in past cold-weather events. Only about 200 of the utility's 140,000 households have called for help with water issues since the storm began, he said.
Gretna's Heck of a Plumber received a dozen calls for help from people experiencing broken pipes or water access issues in Metairie, Kenner, New Orleans, Marrero and Algiers on Wednesday morning, said office manager Ann Taylor.
The company was keeping plumbers off the roads until snow and ice were cleared, Taylor said.
"A lot of people are panicking because they aren't getting water because the lines are frozen," she said. "But it will have to wait until everything thaws for them to see if they have any leaks anywhere."
Ms. Mae's stays open
Heavy, frozen snow on the ground was helping keep the region on ice, especially in the Baton Rouge area. In New Orleans, slightly warmer, elevated winds off Lake Pontchartrain were expected to keep the area from descending into single digits, unlike other parts of the state.
A gradual warming is expected to begin Thursday. Highs on Wednesday were in the 30s for New Orleans, with the overnight low expected to be 24. Baton Rouge had dropped to single digits in the pre-dawn hours and a low of 15 was expected overnight into Thursday.
But while many were curled up at home riding out the cold, others were out making the most of a rare outdoors scene.
At Ms. Mae's, the venerable dive at the corner of Napoleon Avenue and Magazine Street, "a nice little crowd" had gathered at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, according to bartender Kyle, who declined to share her last name.
There were probably 40 or 50 people in the 24-hour saloon, which seemed to be a bit fewer than on Tuesday. Most walked over from the neighborhood.
"A lot of people are on hangover blues after yesterday," Kyle opined.
Staff writers Stephanie Riegel, Bob Warren, Willie Swett, Alyse Pfeil, Sophie Kasakove, Michelle Hunter, Lara Nicholson and Blake Paterson contributed to this report.