Significant Weather Events

January 10-14, 1982 Record Arctic Cold and Severe Winter Storm

Above: GOES 5 Visible Satellite Image at 8:00 AM CST January 14, 1982 showing the snow and ice cover across Texas and Louisiana.

A large and deepening longwave trough over Central and Eastern North America allowed for a strong Arctic airmass over Canada to plunge southward across the upper Midwest on January 8^th. The strong and fridge surface high continued to plunge south-southeast across the Midwest into Texas and eastward across the remainder of the eastern two thirds of the U.S. and the Gulf of Mexico. This frigid airmass brought the coldest temperatures to this area since January 1962, with record lows ranging from the upper single digits to lower teens across Central and South-Central Louisiana, and lower to mid-teens across Southeast Texas on January 11^th. Temperatures fell below freezing during the afternoon and early evening hours of January 10^th, and remained below freezing through the morning or early afternoon hours of January 12^th, a period of 36 to 46 hours at the primary climate reporting sites at the time.

To complicate the severe freeze in progress, two significant mid to upper-level disturbances and Northern Gulf of Mexico surface lows moved across the area the night of January 11^th through the morning of the 12^th, and again on January 13^th. This brought significant amounts of freezing rain, mixed with sleet and some snow. With everything still frozen, including the ground with these low temperatures, all bridges, roads, trees, and power lines experienced significant ice accumulations. It is estimated that 1 to 2 inches of this wintery mix accumulated across areas along and north of I-10, with lesser amounts further south. Some of this wintery mess melted across southern areas south of I-10 when temperatures rose above freezing briefly the afternoon and evening of January 12^th. Total water equivalent rainfall from January 12-13^th ranged from an inch up to 2 ½ inches across the area.

The combination of the severe freeze on the 11^th, and the winter storm that followed that night through the 14^th, caused massive power outages across the area. The ice-covered roads and bridges halted traffic after hundreds of auto accidents had already occurred. Many frozen pipes burst in homes and businesses, causing severe water shortages across the area. For those who were fortunate to have natural gas as a heating source, supplies were unfortunately reduced due to the increased demand and use. Several fires ignited by heating sources were difficult to put out due to the low water pressure across many areas, with a few fatalities across the state.

Satellite Animated Imagery
(NWS LCH YouTube)

GOES 5 Satellite Imagery:

7km Infrared

4km Visible

1km Visible

January 11, 1982 Record Low Temperatures Compiled by: xmACIS2

STATE	LOCATION	STATION TYPE	LOW
LA	ALEXANDRIA	COOP	8
LA	BOYCE 3 WNW	COOP	9
LA	BUNKIE	COOP	10
LA	DE QUINCY	COOP	10
LA	DE RIDDER	COOP	10
LA	ELIZABETH	COOP	9
LA	FRANKLIN 3 NW	COOP	12
LA	GRAND COTEAU	COOP	10
LA	HACKBERRY 8 SSW	COOP	15
LA	JEANERETTE 5 NW	COOP	12
LA	JENNINGS	COOP	11
LA	LAFAYETTE REGIONAL AIRPORT	WBAN	10
LA	LAKE CHARLES REGIONAL AIRPORT	WBAN	15
LA	LEESVILLE	COOP	9
LA	LELAND BOWMAN LOCK	COOP	11
LA	LSU DEAN LEE RESEARCH STATION	COOP	9
LA	MAMOU 4 S	COOP	10
LA	MORGAN CITY	COOP	10
LA	NEW IBERIA	COOP	11
LA	OBERLIN FIRE TOWER	COOP	10
LA	ROCKEFELLER WILDLIFE REFUGE	COOP	14
LA	ROSEPINE RESEARCH STATION	COOP	8
LA	WOODWORTH 2 SE	COOP	7
TX	BEAUMONT RESEARCH CENTER	COOP	16
TX	ORANGE	COOP	15
TX	PORT ARTHUR SE TX REGIONAL AIRPORT	WBAN	15
TX	SAM RAYBURN DAM	COOP	11
TX	TOLEDO BEND DAM	COOP	9
TX	STEINHAGEN LAKE	COOP	13
TX	TOWN BLUFF DAM	COOP	13

Consecutive hours below freezing
Location	Start Date/Time	End Date/Time	Hours
Fort Polk, LA (KPOE-Army)	01/10 - 2 PM	01/12 - 1 PM	*46
Alexandria Esler Field, LA (KESF-WBAN)	01/10 - 5 PM	01/12 - 11 AM	42
Lake Charles Regional Airport, LA (KLCH-NWS)	01/10 - 8 PM	01/12 - 9 AM	37
Lafayette, LA (KLFT-WBAN)	01/10 - 7 PM	01/12 - 9 AM	38
Port Arthur Southeast Texas Regional Airport, TX (KBPT-NWS)	01/10 - 8 PM	01/12 - 9 AM	36
*Had 2 hours above freezing on 01/11/1982 from 4-5 PM.

Hourly Surface Observations January 10-14, 1982 From National Centers for Environmental Information (NECI), times are in CST * = Incomplete observations due to power and/or equipment failure
Fort Polk, LA (KPOE-Army)	1/10	1/11	1/12		1/13	1/14
Alexandria Esler Field, LA (KESF-WBAN)	1/10	1/11	1/12		1/13	1/14
Lake Charles Regional Airport, LA (KLCH-NWS)	1/10	1/11	1/12		1/13	1/14
Lafayette, LA (KLFT-WBAN)	1/10	1/11	1/12	1/13		1/14
Port Arthur Southeast Texas Regional Airport, TX (KBPT-NWS)	1/10	1/11	1/12	1/13		1/14

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