A rare artic blast struck LaSalle Parish last week, sending temperatures into the teens, producing snow and shutting down schools and most businesses, including government offices.
Forecasters had been predicting the winter storm for over a week, allowing residents time to prepare for the extreme cold conditions. Originally, up to a foot of snow was predicted for Central Louisiana, however, the system, fueled by Gulf moisture, produced a rare occurrence as southern Louisiana received more snow than its northern counterpart.
The heart of the system arrived during the early morning hours of Tuesday, January 21, bringing below freezing temperatures and snow flurries. Some areas received a mixture of sleet/snow but for the most part, when the moisture left the area by noon on Tuesday, over an inch of snow fell in the Jena area.
Town of Jena Plant Operator David Sherill reported that between 1 ½ to 2 inches of snow was recorded at the town’s wastewater treatment plant, located on East Bradford Street.
LaSalle Parish schools were closed Tuesday, announced on Monday prior to the event, as were most schools in Louisiana as a safety precaution. As the event moved through the area Tuesday, the potential for roads and bridges to ice over increased Tuesday night; with temperatures in the teens, schools were closed once again on Wednesday.
Also closed on Tuesday were many businesses, and several residents headed law enforcement’s advice to stay home and off the parish roads and highways. Residents with children took advantage of the rare “Snow Day” and had fun playing and enjoying the snow.
The LaSalle Parish Courthouse and all offices located within it, including the 28th Judicial District Court, were also closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
By Wednesday night, January 22, the parish was operating back to normal and on Thursday, January 23, most businesses were open, along with the courthouse, and school was back in session.
LaSalle Parish School Superintendent Jon Garrett reported that the two days that were missed due to the weather will have to be made up in order for the system to meet the required number of education days for the year.
He expects those days will be on future Mondays, having schools operate on a five-day week for two weeks sometime before school is dismissed.
LaSalle Parish Sheriff Lane Windham reported that during the winter event, only two traffic accidents were reported in the parish due to icy road conditions. He did note, thankfully however, the no serious injuries resulted. Only one of those accidents resulted in minor injuries.
The Sheriff also reported no other weather related accidents or injuries occurred.