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Historic winter storm blankets New Orleans in inches of snow [1]

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Date: 2025-01-22

A historic winter storm hit New Orleans on Tuesday (Jan. 21), covering the city — and much of Southeast Louisiana — with snow.

Major highways, schools, government buildings and businesses shut down in advance of the storm, and city of New Orleans officials encouraged residents to stay off the roads.

The National Weather Service reported as much as 9.5 inches of snow in New Orleans, though residents of the greater New Orleans area reported snowfall totals as high 11.5 inches to the agency’s New Orleans office.

Local meteorologists had to go as far back as 1895 to find a winter storm that was comparable to the one that happened on Tuesday. The storm easily surpassed the 1963 winter storm that brought 4.5 inches of snow to the city. The National Weather Service recorded 11 inches of snow in Jefferson Parish back then, according to the Times-Picayune.

But the 11.5 inches recorded by a resident on Tuesday is not an official measurement. And the office no longer has an observer at the spot in Jefferson Parish where the 1895 snowfall was recorded, so it’s hard for the agency to say at this point whether the Tuesday snowfall surpassed the previous record.

PHOTOS: Historic snowstorm shuts down most of New Orleans

A snowman on Desoto Street in Bayou St. John on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Credit: Richard A. Webster / Verite News

The snowy outside of Vaughan’s Lounge in the Bywater on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: Arielle Robinson / Verite News

People walk in the snow on France Street near J&J’s Sports Lounge on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: Arielle Robinson / Verite News

Snow falls outside of the abandoned Naval Base in the Bywater on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: Arielle Robinson / Verite News

Two people walk down Poland Avenue in the snow on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: Arielle Robinson / Verite News

Uptown resident Chris Williams builds a snowman with his daughter, Fowler, in Audubon Park on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: Safura Syed / Verite News

Magazine Street in New Orleans on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: Safura Syed / Verite News

A person walks their dog in Audubon Park amidst a snowstorm on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: Safura Syed / Verite News

Audubon Park in New Orleans during a snowstorm on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: Safura Syed / Verite News

Uptown residents Roth and Lacie Hainkel walk with their daughter Amelia to sled down the levee on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: Safura Syed / Verite News

A man walks his dog in the snow down Dauphine Street in the Bywater on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: Arielle Robinson / Verite News

Snow lines Burgundy Street in the Bywater and the roof of the Bywater mural in New Orleans on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: Arielle Robinson / Verite news

Snow falls outside of BJ’s Lounge in the Bywater on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: Arielle Robinson / Verite News

A car covered in snow turns in front of J&J’s Sports Lounge on France Street on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: Arielle Robinson / Verite News

Snow on cars and in the road along Burgundy Street in the Bywater on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: Arielle Robinson / Verite News

Snowfall on Baudin Street on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: John Gray / Verite News

Bub’s Burgers on Banks Street on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. A winter storm blanketed the greater New Orleans area with several inches of snow. Credit: John Gray / Verite News

Snowfall on South Alexander Street on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: John Gray / Verite News

A van drives through the snow on Banks Street on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: John Gray / Verite News

Snowfall on Baudin Street on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: John Gray / Verite News

Banks Street Bar at the corner of Banks Street and South Alexander Street on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: John Gray / Verite News

St. Mary’s Dominican High School in New Orleans on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: Drew Costley / Verite News

The Leah Chase School on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: Drew Costley / Verite News

The intersection of Walmsley Avenue and South Carrolton Street on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: Drew Costley / Verite News

Walmsley Avenue on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: Drew Costley / Verite News

An oak tree on Walmsley Avenue on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: Drew Costley / Verite News

Mardi Gras decorations on Walmsley Avenue on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Credit: Drew Costley / Verite News

Still, one National Weather Service meteorologist called Tuesday’s storm an historic event.

“It’s probably the worst storm we’ve had since that 1963 one,” said Hannah Lisney, who works for the agency’s New Orleans office. “We just mean historic in that it was a very rare event.”

While much of the city was shut down, area residents hit the streets to enjoy the rare weather event. Some residents played ice hockey on Canal Street, others snowboarded on St. Charles Avenue and nuns and priests got into a snowball fight.

The snow stopped Tuesday evening, but many roads remain iced over and it could be days until they thaw out. The National Weather Service is encouraging people to stay off the roads until that happens in order to avoid car accidents.

“There’s going to be some melting and refreezing issues,” Lisney said. “So the hazardous road conditions are going to continue, unfortunately for the next day or so. We advise folks to still stay off the roads if they can, until we can hopefully get it all melted and dried out.”

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[1] Url: https://veritenews.org/2025/01/22/winter-storm-historic-snow-new-orleans/

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