La. braces for wintery blast

Reported by: WIRE and STAFF reports
Last Update: 12/04/2009 3:57 pm

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Geraldo Mata blows on his hands while walking through a downtown park as snow falls Friday, Dec. 4, 2009 in Houston. The Houston area is under winter storm warning with several inches of snow accumulation possible. ((AP Photo/David J. Phillip))

New Orleans - The state is bracing for its second snowfall in as many years. Winter storm warnings have been issued for much of the central part of Louisiana down to the coast.

Fire officials have urged homeowners to take caution when heating up their homes. They remind people to keep three feed of space between combustible materials and heating equipment, make sure you don't heat your residence with an oven, and be very careful when using space heaters.
The state transportation department is preparing 12 trucks filled with sand to be on stand by in case of snowy weather. The Transportation Management Center will closely monitor the weather situation throughout the day and night and dispatch crews to dump sand on the roads as needed.

The sand helps create friction between the car's tires and the slushy snow. If the weather gets severe enough, they will mix salt in with the sand to prevent ice from forming on the streets. The DOTD urges people to stay off the roads if driving is not necessary. If it's unavoidable, they caution drivers to take it slow.

Agricultural businesses possibly have the most to lose because of freezing weather. Many owners are preparing for the wintry blast by taking safeguards such as putting structures in place to protect stock.

"The cows know that something is coming, they can sense it, and they are looking forward to it," said Jeff Kleinpeter of Kleinpeter dairies in an e-mailed statement to the Associated Press. "The ideal temp for a cow is 38 degrees outside, and a little colder is not a problem."

The North Shore is preparing for power outages in some areas.

“At this time it is hard to predict what may happen, but the best course of action is to be prepared,” said James Lass, general manager of distribution engineering and emergency management. “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.”

Crews are on standby just in case.

As of this Friday afternoon, New Orleans is not expected to see a repeat of last December when snow blanked the entire metro area.

For more tips on heating and fire safety visit www.stfpd1.org.

For traveler information visit www.511la.org.

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