State offices closed early in 13 Louisiana parishes Friday afternoon as the state prepared for an evening blast of wintry weather that was expected to include snow — rare anytime in Louisiana but especially unusual in early December.
Mike Griffin, a forecaster for the National Weather Service's Lake Charles office, said pockets of moderate to heavy snow fell in the southwestern towns of Sulphur, Moss Bluff, DeRidder and Oberlin.
"It was heavy enough to see a light dusting on the ground, but it's not sticking to roads," he said. "It's above freezing in most areas."
Forecasts said up to three inches of snow was possible in southwestern Louisiana by late Friday. Central Louisiana and the southeastern part of the state north of Lake Pontchartrain were expecting up to one or two inches overnight.
To the north, flurries were reported from Shreveport to near Alexandria as of mid-evening, said Mike Berry, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Shreveport.
"We've been telling people all day not to expect a whole lot," he said. "The ground temperatures are still warm. It's really not a very big deal but it's hard to convey that to people who are expecting it."
Berry said the storm system was moving quickly. "It's about to come to an end in the northern part of the state, but further south, they might see more activity," he said.
Cleco Corp. said power outages were possible because of the wintry weather mix blowing through the utility's service territory.
"We aren't expecting a lot of trouble with snow accumulation, but some areas may have winter winds that could break tree branches and cause power outages," said James Lass, general manager of distribution engineering and emergency management.
Lass said Cleco crews are on standby to make repairs, and as the weather improves, outages will become less likely.
New Orleans, which was dusted by an unexpected snowfall last December was forecast to miss out on the snow this time around.
State officials warned of hazardous driving conditions and readied sand and salt in anticipation of icy roads and bridges. To give workers time to drive home safely, state offices closed early in the parishes of Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis, Acadia, Evangeline, Lafayette, Iberia, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary and Vermilion.
Agricultural interests also took steps to prepare for the winter weather.
Jeff Kleinpeter of Kleinpeter dairies said in an e-mailed statement that protective structures were put in place to protect young stock. Mature cows can handle the cold, he said.
"The cows know that something is coming, they can sense it, and they are looking forward to it," Kleinpeter said. "The ideal temp for a cow is 38 degrees outside, and a little colder is not a problem."
Although the snowfall wasn't expected to be as heavy as the one that blanketed parts of the state with as much as 8 inches last December, owners of plant nurseries that had buildings damaged by the weight of that snow were taking steps to prevent a recurrence.
Workers at Windmill Nursery in Washington Parish removed the shade cloth from greenhouses. The shade cloth is used to block out light but the nursery's production manager, Buddy Motley, told WWL television that the cloth also held onto the snow that fell last year, causing greenhouse collapses.