Per the NWS SPC, heavy snow will fall in this area the next three hours  (till 9pm EST) A Radar Image to Show Your Grandchildren: 4pm EST Both Houston airports are closed as are the airports at Lake Charles, Baton Rouge and Alexandria, Louisiana. Snow has accumulated on the beaches at Galveston and in Alabama.  Updated forecast radar for 8pm EST.  Via Twitter/X, photos of this unusual event.  Earlier today: From Meteorologist Mike Morgan National Weather Service Warnings as of 4pm Pink is a winter storm warning. Purple is a winter weather advisory. Deep blue is a cold wave warning.  This is a storm for the record books. 

Power Outages Rainfall Extreme flooding is occurring in New Orleans per the National Weather Service.  More than eight inches of rain have fallen today in west New Orleans. This is equivalent to a 50 year flood in some areas. 

Radar at 7:04pm shows a widening eye that has fallen apart. Wind gusts at the New Orleans Louis Armstrong Airport have reached 65 mph.  Unfortunately, power has gone out in a large area near and along the path of the storm.  This will be the last update as the storm is inland.  5pm -- official landfall 4pm radar As I feared, the storm has officially intensified to 100 mph (Cat 2) with gusts to 120 mph. As predicted below, the highest winds will be moving into New Orleans in about an hour.  The power outages are increasing rapidly. ---- 3:30p ---- 3:30p The highest winds are in the hatched "W" area. They will be arriving in downtown New Orleans or the French Quarter after 4:30pm. Please make sure you are in sturdy shelter.  2pm Update The highest winds are in the "donut" marked with the W . It is moving toward New Orleans.  First area of concentrated power outages in orange. There will be many more before the sun sets.  ---- We have our first tornado wa...

8:40pm note: For those who have been following along with my forecasts, I have been telling people in Baton Rouge (especially) and New Orleans to make preparations for damaging winds. Based on the latest data, I believe the threat for those two cities has risen since earlier today.  4:10pm Update: Hurricane warnings have been posted for the Louisiana coast (red).  Winds at landfall are now forecast to be 100 mph, which is a significant change since this morning's forecast. There is also a high surge warning. The pink/blue is a hurricane watch/tropical storm warning. Yellow is a tropical storm watch. Damaging winds are likely in Baton Rouge and possible in New Orleans. In red, the storm surge is forecast to be up to 10 feet -- a life-threatening situation.  Tornadoes are possible along and to the east of the path of the eye of the hurricane.  Now is the time to prepare. Below is the time of arrival of the 40 mph or stronger winds.   Along the coast and in fl...

4:10p This forecast has been updated. Hurricane warnings  have been issued for the Louisiana coast. The update is available here .  2:05pm. Francine is strengthening  significantly. As of 1pm, it is maximum sustained winds are 60 mph and the pressure has dropped to 996 mb. Here is the forecast rainfall.  10:10am: NHC has officially upgraded the system in the southwest Gulf to Tropical Storm Francine. A hurricane watch has been issued for the Louisiana Coast from Cameron to Grand Isle.  Then-Hurricane Francine is forecast to come ashore with 85 mph winds. The winds will affect Baton Rouge and, possibly, New Orleans. Please note the hurricane watch goes inland a ways to account for the potential for 75 mph or stronger winds away from the coast.  Pink = hurricane watch.  Yellow = tropical storm watch.  Amber = area of 40 to 50 mph winds at present. Maximum sustained winds are 50 mph and the lowest pressure is 1002 millibars.  Published at 9:20am...

As of 7:50pm, the chances for tornadoes looks to be very small between now and when the tornado watch expires.  However, the Storm Prediction Center still believes there is a slight tornado risk during the night in the outlined area from Mobile to southwest Georgia.  ---  A tornado watch  is now in effect until 9pm for the outlined area. Please follow me on Twitter @usweatherexpert.  --- original 1:15pm post -- The area outlined in red has a significant risk of tornadoes between now and 4pm CST.  While I will periodically update on Twitter @usweatherexpert, I will also update this blow during the late afternoon.  In the meantime, I recommend monitoring trusted sources of local weather information. Below is the New Orleans radar showing the storms as of 1:13pm. Note the severe thunderstorm warning (yellow polygon) for the Lafayette area. There is also considerable flooding in central Mississippi (green polygons are flash flood warnings). 

Chiefs fans are still basking in the memory of  Sunday's thrilling overtime win.    Perhaps that is why the NFL, which to my recollection has never before emailed me, sent an invitation to make a deposit  on tickets for next year's Super Bowl LIX (59) just hours after the Super Bowl 58 concluded, There reasons to be sentimental about a New Orleans Super Bowl for Chiefs fans. It was the site of our first world championship after losing to Green Bay in Super Bowl I. My parents attended Super Bowl IV while my then-girlfriend came over the house to watch because I had to babysit my younger sisters 🙃.    Keep Matriculating the Ball Down the Field Boys! That was the game where Chiefs Coach Hank Stram was wired for sound by NFL Films. If you like football and have never seen the above clip, I urge you to watch.  In homage to Hank, current Chiefs Coach Andy Reid wore the same style sport coat on his way into the stadium Sunday.  Instead of "65 Toss Pow...

Great story from Time  magazine about how engineers' clever work probably saved the city from Ida.  One serious issue (among many) in American society is that engineers are underpaid and way under appreciated.