Fire Weather Concerns and Severe Weather

Dry and breezy conditions will bring elevated to critical fire weather conditions across portions of the northern and central High Plains through this weekend, where fuels remain largely receptive. Severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall are possible from the Plains into the Upper Midwest, as well as in the Ohio Valley and portions of the Mid-Atlantic through this weekend. Read More >

January 15-17, 2024 Winter Weather and Record Cold

Above: GOES 16 GeoColor Satellite Image January 16, 2024 showing the snow cover and cold air stratocumulus clouds over the Gulf.

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 Central and Eastern U.S. during the middle part of January 2024. This brought the coldest temperatures to the region since December 2022. As the cold air was moving southward on January 15th, over-running rainfall created a light glaze of freezing rain across Southeast Texas and Southern Louisiana, with a freezing rain and sleet mixture across Central Louisiana. Although ice accumulations were light, it was enough to shut down most bridges and elevated highways, causing several accidents and bringing traffic to a stand still. The cold air continued southward bringing temperatures into the 20s for the remainder of January 15th and upper teens to lower 20s by daybreak January 16th. This, coupled with winds of 20-30 mph made the wind chill temperatures in the single digits. The clouds cleared and winds calmed down the night of January 16th through daybreak of January 17th, resulting in temperatures reaching the lower to mid teens north of I-10, and upper teens to lower 20s further south. Some locations across Central Louisiana dropped below freezing early on January 15th, and did not rise above freezing until the afternoon of January 17th.

Above: Modeled estimated snow depth early on January 16, 2024.

Above: U.S. surface map animation from January 14-17, 2024 showing the progression of the Arctic cold front and surface high pressure.

Satellite Animated Imagery
(NWS LCH YouTube)

GOES 16 Satellite Imagery:

4km GeoColor

1km GeoColor

January 16-17, 2024 Low Temperatures
STATE	LOCATION	STATION ID	LOW
LA	ABBEVILLE	KIYA	19
LA	ALEXANDRIA POWER PLANT	ALXL1	15
LA	ALEXANDRIA 5 SSE	ADSL1	12
LA	ALEXANDRIA ESLER FIELD	KESF	11
LA	ALEXANDRIA INTL AP	KAEX	12
LA	BERWICK	TESL1	21
LA	BOYCE 3 WNW	BYCL1	13
LA	BUNKIE	BNKL1	15
LA	CAMERON	CAPL1	21
LA	CARLYSS	KUXL	20
LA	CHENAULT AIR FIELD	KCWF	19
LA	DE RIDDER	KDRI	15
LA	DE QUINCY	K5R8	15
LA	EUGENE ISLAND, ATCHAFALAYA BAY	EINL1	23
LA	EVANGELINE/GARDNER	GARL1	11
LA	FORT JOHNSON	KPOE	15
LA	FORT JOHNSON PEASON RIDGE RANGE	KAQV	11
LA	FORT JOHNSON FULLERTON LANDING STRIP	KBKB	15
LA	FRANKLIN 3 NW	FRAL1	19
LA	FRESHWATER CANAL LOCKS	FRWL1	20
LA	HACKBERRY	HCKL1	20
LA	JEANERETTE 5 NW	JENL1	18
LA	JENNINGS	JNNL1	17
LA	LACASSINE	LACL1	19
LA	LAFAYETTE 13 SE	CADL1	17
LA	LAFAYETTE REGIONAL AP	KLFT	18
LA	LAKE ARTHUR 7 SW	LWRL1	20
LA	LAKE CHARLES REGIONAL AP	KLCH	19
LA	LEESVILLE	LEEL1	10
LA	LELAND BOWMAN LOCK	VLKL1	20
LA	MOSS BLUFF 2 NNW	MBLL1	14
LA	NEW IBERIA AIRPORT - ACADIANA REGIONAL	KARA	18
LA	OAKDALE	KACP	14
LA	OBERLIN FIRE TOWER	OBEL1	15
LA	OPELOUSAS	KOPL	15
LA	PATTERSON	KPTN	20
LA	SALT POINT	KP92	21
LA	VERNON	VRNL1	15
TX	BEAUMONT RESEARCH CENTER	BAGT2	19
TX	BUNA	KRBPT	15
TX	JASPER	KJAS	12
TX	KIRBYVILLE	KIRT2	15
TX	LUMBERTON	LLBT2	17
TX	MCFADDEN	FADT2	21
TX	ORANGE 9 N	ORET2	17
TX	PORT ARTHUR SE TX REGIONAL AP	KBPT	21
TX	SABINE PASS TEXAS POINT	TXPT2	22
TX	SAM RAYBURN DAM	JSPT2	13
TX	SOUTHERN ROUGH	WRRT2	12
TX	TOWN BLUFF DAM	TBLT2	13
TX	WARREN	WRRT2	12
TX	WOODVILLE TEXAS	WVLT2	16

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