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The storm brought both dazzling landscapes of ice and snow and challenges to a city unaccustomed to such severe winter weather.
- Jan. 22, 2025, 6:58 p.m. ET
The snow canceled classes and made getting to work impossible, disrupting routines and causing an array of problems in New Orleans, where most people have little or no experience navigating wintry conditions.
But amid the complications on Wednesday, the winter storm made the landscape a dazzling spectacle. Snow coated roofs and parked cars; icicles dangled from porches. Some made sleds out of whatever they could find — trash bin lids, baking sheets, cardboard boxes. There were snowball fights and a group of teenagers wielded icicles like swords.
Christian Nelson and his girlfriend, Nikki Wise, built a snowman outside her apartment and savored an experience that they wouldn’t mind repeating.
“I wish we would get one a year,” Mr. Nelson said of the onslaught of snow.
New Orleans was not an idyllic snow globe, though. Some residents said they stayed up through the night, doing whatever they could, and not always successfully, to try to prevent their pipes from freezing and bursting. Roads became impassable and businesses closed, meaning lost wages for workers. The N.B.A.’s Pelicans also canceled a game scheduled for Wednesday night.
But the city appeared to be gradually clawing its way out of the snow throughout the day; officials reported that highways and bridges in the area began reopening.
Still, Interstate 10 within the city remained closed on Wednesday evening. It is “still very icy and snow-covered,” said Jacob Pucheu, a spokesman for the Louisiana State Police. He also said that there were still plenty of stranded vehicles to deal with but fewer crashes than on Tuesday.
Officials warned residents to avoid venturing out. “This stuff is dangerous, though it may look pretty,” said Oliver Thomas, a city councilman. “Don’t drive on it, walk on it or ride your bike on it.” He compared it to a hurricane: “Shelter in place, everyone,” he said. “We know what to do when it’s a weather event — we’re familiar with that in New Orleans.
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NOLA Prepared, a social media humor platform that pokes fun at the city’s familiarity with extreme weather and disasters, offered an earnest appreciation of the extraordinary conditions.
“I have to imagine we’re about to be in for a rough couple of days,” an unnamed author wrote in a post from the account, which has more than 20,000 followers.
Still, it added, “Seeing New Orleans wrapped in a fresh blanket of snow is for sure one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever witnessed. Twenty years from now, you’ll remember today.”
Alan Watson spent time on Wednesday clearing snow from his truck with a broom. He said New Orleans seems to get snowfall roughly once a decade, “but never anything like this.” He, for one, will not be remembering the wintry conditions favorably.
“I don’t like it,” he said.
Rick Rojas is the Atlanta bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of the South. More about Rick Rojas
