Louisianans across the southern part of the state woke up this week to find themselves in a stark winterscape with a fluffy blanket of powdery snow on the ground after a historic storm dumped 6 inches of snow or more across the region.
The snow, fueled by bitterly cold arctic air moving down from the north and moisture moving up from the Gulf, began falling Tuesday morning and continued throughout most of the day. Unusually, the cold air that made the snow possible arrived well before the moisture did, meaning that once the snow hit the ground, it didn't immediately melt like so many Louisiana snowfalls. It accumulated to our wonder and delight.
Most schools and businesses were closed, and authorities warned residents not to go out for fear that the treacherous conditions could cause significant accidents.
We are heartened that it seems many Louisianans heeded those warnings and did not get behind the wheel. But they certainly got out.
Almost from first light, people were outside, marveling at the flakes drifting down from the sky. Once there were a few inches on the ground, it was common to see children and even adults flopping into the snow to make snow angels, rolling snowballs for hurling and improvising sleds to slide down hills.
Snowmen began popping up in yards and open spaces, many of them garbed in Mardi Gras-themed attire, naturally.
There were people on skis in the French Quarter and a guy playing ice hockey on Canal Street in New Orleans. Flakes fell as Mike the Tiger trotted in his enclosure on LSU's campus.
Obviously, weather events like Tuesday's are almost completely unprecedented in Louisiana. Baton Rouge's totals will likely surpass the six inches received in 1940 and be the second biggest snowfall ever recorded in the city. Though it won't come close to the biggest snowfall recorded there -- 12.5 inches in 1895 -- it is still the greatest amount of snow recorded in over a century. Lafayette saw similar totals, beating out the second highest snowfall total of 4.7 inches in February 1960.
New Orleans got about 10 inches, tying that 1895 record and adding a surreal veneer to its famous landmarks.
It's unusual when a rare weather event sparks so much joy. We are all too familiar with terrifying weather forcing evacuations and creating uncertainty about the future. For most, this was not that -- it was a time for adults to play like children, for neighbors to gather and marvel at the houses that looked like they had been staged for holiday postcards.
We are grateful that there have been no reports of widespread emergencies caused by the cold, and that most seem to have listened to officials who urged them to shelter in place.
Next week, our temperatures will be back up in the 60s, and this week's wild winter weather will be nothing more than a dreamy memory. We hope that will never melt away.