The extreme cold and icy conditions early last week had the majority of the parish staying home and inside warm controlled climates as a major artic blast blew into central Louisiana.
Residents in LaSalle had several days to prepare for the artic incursion that appeared in the area Monday afternoon, January 15. Between 3:00-5:30 p.m., a mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain dusted the parish with temperatures below freezing when the precipitation began to fall.
Many businesses allowed employees to leave early while those that stayed until closing found themselves waiting for windshields to thaw in order to see to drive home.
The hard freeze that night with temperatures in the high teens caused roadways and bridges to remain covered with ice, causing most business and parish agencies to close Tuesday, January 16.
Rodney Roark with the Town of Jena’s Wastewater Treatment Facility, noted the highs and lows early last week.
“On Monday, we had a high of 42° with a low of 21°,” Roark reported. “We also had about two tenths of an inch of precipitation in the form of snow/sleet Monday afternoon.”
“On Tuesday, we had a high of 29° with a low of 7°,” he continued.
Weather experts from across the region noted that the windchill effect left it feeling much colder.
The extreme cold weather was an anomaly for LaSalle Parish, that has an average January high temperature of 57° and an average low of 35°.
Unofficially, Tuesday’s low of 7° is a new record, although that won’t be confirmed by the National Weather Service until later. Jena’s previous record January low temperature was set on January 17, 2018, when the temperature was 11°.
The LaSalle Parish Sheriff’s Office reported several wrecks due to the icy road conditions, all occurring on Tuesday, January 16.
LPSO Chief Criminal Deputy Jimmy Arbogast said that Tuesday morning, six wrecks or incidents occurred, all attributed to the icy road conditions that morning.
The list of wrecks/incidents were: 5:40 a.m. on Tarver Avenue in Jena; 7:10 a.m. on West Bradford Street in Jena; 8:20 a.m. on LA 773/ LA 8; 8:45 a.m. on LA 773 near Fellowship Elementary School; 9:08 a.m. on LA 127 at the LPSO Rifle Range; and 9:15 on US 84 near Good Pine Middle School.
The high number of wrecks in a short amount of time prompted LaSalle Parish Sheriff Scott Franklin to take to social media warning residents to not travel.
“We have wrecks stacked up because of all the unnecessary drivers,” the Sheriff posted on his Facebook page. “All roads are covered in black ice and are unsafe to travel on. Just know that if you slide off the road you may be waiting a while before we can get help to you.”
The Sheriff’s Office also noted that there were no injuries reported with any of the wrecks.
Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development closed US 165 in LaSalle Parish from Tullos through Grant Parish due to the winter conditions.
Along with most businesses and government/private agencies closed Tuesday, LaSalle Parish schools were also closed.
Schools stayed closed Tuesday and Wednesday of last week but reopened on Thursday, January 18.
The weather also affected high school basketball games and many other activities throughout the parish early last week.
But even with just a “dusting” of snow Monday afternoon, most parish youth were thrilled to get outside and enjoy what little snow they had.
Central Louisiana averages between 1-4 tenths of snow annually.
The cold weather played havoc on parish water systems as leaks in various lines from both main water lines and home water lines, caused some systems to turn off water for various lengths of times while repairs were made.
Other leaks on customers’ private property caused low water pressure in some systems as well.
Although temperatures fell once again this past weekend, dipping into the 20s Saturday night, this week calls for more average temperatures (highs in the 60s and lows in the 50s) with high rain chances.
