Louisiana isn't exactly known for its white winters.
"We don’t get a lot of snow in north Louisiana," says state climatologist Barry Keim. "But we certainly get significantly more than in south Louisiana because of all the warm water we have available."
So what does it take to make flakes fall down here?
"To get snow in south Louisiana, we really have to have a cold front stall along the coast. That puts the cold air in place here, but you’re still close enough to that front to where that warm, moist air from the gulf can sort of climb it, if you will, and work it’s way into the upper parts of the atmosphere,"Keimsays.
The cold air and Gulf moisture combine to form snow. And that's exactly what happened during the "Snowpocalypse" two years ago. There were four icing events between January and March that year. But 2013 was by no means the worst winter Louisiana has ever seen."The mother of all snow events occurred February 14-15, 1895."
Baton Rouge received over a foot of snow. New Orleans saw eight inches. And Rayne, Louisiana..."Twenty-four inches in Rayne, LA," Keim says. "And I might add, that’s the one day snow record. And that still stands as our record."
This year is an El Nino year, which means it's going to be colder and wetter than usual. But according to Keim, that doesn't necessarily mean more snow.
"We don’t generally see more freeze events. Basically, we just get socked in with clouds a lot and we get a lot of rain and just stay soggy and damp and chilly."
That said, who know what will happen?
"The atmosphere is tough to cope with. So expect the unexpected!"
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