Snow on the Delta

Snow drift on a car, New Orleans, 21 Jan 2025, 5:55pm (photo by Infrogmation via Wikimedia Commons)

28 January 2025

This photo of a car in a snow drift was not taken in Minnesota. It was in New Orleans, Louisiana on 21 January 2025!

The winter storm that brought these blizzard conditions and 30-40 mph wind gusts had passed by the time this satellite image was taken on 22 January. Snow etches the contours of the Mississippi Delta.

Snow on the ground in the Southeastern U.S., 22 Jan 2025. Note including the Mississippi River Delta (image from MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC)

During the storm it really did look like Minnesota in photos by Infrogmation on Wikimedia Commons — at top and below.

New Orleans backyard during snowfall on 21 Jan 2025, 4:10pm (photo by Infrogmation via Wikimedia Commons)
Snow drift in the backyard, New Orleans, 21 Jan 2025, 5:59pm (photo by Infrogmation via Wikimedia Commons)

The storm left behind …

  • 200 miles of Interstate 10 closed due to snow and ice.
  • 8 inches of snow in New Orleans.
  • 7°F in Baton Rouge, the lowest temperature ever recorded in their 95 years of keeping track.
  • Frozen, broken water pipes …
  • and everyone huddled indoors!

The rare storm brought more snow to New Orleans than has fallen in Anchorage, Alaska, since the start of meteorological winter, noted the National Weather Service.

from NASA MODIS Image of the Day 24 Jan 2025

The entire episode was quite a shock to a city that stays green all winter. Without snowplows Louisiana had to clear I-10 using backhoes.

Today’s high in New Orleans will be near normal at 61°F. This is what is should look like in January.

Cambronne Street, Carrolton Historic District, New Orleans, 2 Jan 2024 (photo by Infrogmation via Wikimedia Commons)

UPDATE on 1 Feb 2025: After this storm paralyzed the Gulf Coast states it headed out to sea and strengthened into an extremely powerful extratropical cyclone in the North Atlantic. When it got to Ireland it had a name — Storm Éowyn.

“Éowyn barreled into Ireland and the northern United Kingdom on Friday, January 24, bringing heavy wind damage, a destructive storm surge, and widespread power outages.

“The ferocious windstorm brought the highest sustained winds — 135 km/hr (84 mph) — and the highest wind gust ever recorded in Ireland — 183 km/hr (114 mph).

“Sustained 10-minute winds of 84 mph are characteristic of a strong Cat 1 or weak Cat 2 hurricane. The damage being reported from Ireland and the U.K. is indeed characteristic of a hurricane, and Storm Éowyn may well end up being Earth’s second billion-dollar weather disaster of 2025, along with the Los Angeles fires.”

quoted from: Storm Eowyn brings hurricane-level destruction to Ireland

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *