2 weeks ago
8
Weather|They’ve Never Seen Snow Like This Before. They Wanted to Make the Most of It.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/21/weather/new-orleans-snow-residents.html
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
Snowfall along the Gulf Coast is rare. So, the powder on Tuesday inspired plenty of excitement and delight.
- Jan. 21, 2025Updated 7:53 p.m. ET
In the Ninth Ward of New Orleans on Tuesday, levees built to hold the Mississippi River at bay suddenly provided the perfect slope for sledding. And in a place unaccustomed to such activity, pieces of cardboard, storage container covers and a hard plastic lid cut from a rolling trash bin became vehicles for sliding through the snow.
Owen Reilly, 9, was using a metal cookie sheet.
“It seemed like it was scientifically impossible for it to snow here,” Owen said, brushing white flakes from his hands. He had never seen it happen in his lifetime.
The Gulf Coast is a part of the world that is deeply and frustratingly familiar with extreme weather. The Ninth Ward was practically flooded out by Hurricane Katrina. It is also a place where many take particular pride in taking such events in stride, even bragging about sleeping through Category 1 hurricanes.
But snowfall is rare; enough snowfall to accumulate on the ground, even rarer. So, the powder on Tuesday inspired plenty of excitement and delight as people (and pets) ventured outside, setting aside worries about frozen pipes and slippery roads to savor something that felt special.
“This is a treat for us,” Monique Gary, 62, said as she walked her golden retriever in Lafayette, La. Even so, she added, “it’s a little unnerving.” She hoped she did not lose her heat or water — a major problem during winter storms in recent years in Louisiana.
Image
