Tommy Martinez Parish of Ascension Parish President OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY Richard A. Webre AND Director EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS ASCENSION PARISH WEATHER SITREP 10 December 2008 As of: 1230 Hours The National Weather Service is calling for a 70% chance of a snow/sleet mix for all of Louisiana tonight and into tomorrow as a result of the cold front that moved into the State yesterday and this morning. While it will be cold through Saturday, conditions do not call for freezing temperatures except for central Louisiana on Thursday getting down to 32 degrees. More details on the weather through Sunday are provided in Paragraph 1 below. 1. LOUISIANA WEATHER: Southwest Louisiana: There is a 70% chance of rain today turning into a 70% chance for snow/sleet mix tonight. On Thursday there will be a 40% chance of snow/sleet mix during the day with conditions clearing Thursday night. Clear conditions will continue until Sunday when there is a 20% chance for rain. Hazardous Weather: A cold and windy day is in store for the region today in the wake of a cold front which passed on Tuesday evening. A lake wind advisory has been issued for the parishes and counties along and south of Interstate 10 over southwest Louisiana. Meanwhile rain will gradually spread across the region this morning. Some snow or sleet is possible later this afternoon across the lakes region tonight for all of the forecast area. Accumulations are expected to be small at this time but officials and the public are urged to stay tuned for later updates on this developing weather situation. On the coastal waters a gale warning is in effect for the coastal waters from 20 to 60 nautical miles offshore as winds are expected to be 30 to 35 knots with gusts to 40 knots. A small craft advisory is in effect for the near shore waters within 20 nautical miles as well as for the coastal lakes and bays with winds of 20 to 30 knots. Winds will start to diminish on the waters beginning tonight. Some rain and snow will linger into the morning hours on Thursday before tapering off from west to east during the remainder of the day. Dry weather is expected into Saturday as high pressure builds past the region. Small rain chances are then expected beginning Sunday and lingering into Tuesday as Gulf moisture returns to the area while weak disturbances aloft pass periodically. 828 S. Irma Boulevard, Building 3 Gonzales, Louisiana 70737 Telephone: (225) 621-8360 Fax: (225) 621-8362 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ascensionparish.net Southeast Louisiana: There is a 60% chance for rain today turning into a 70% chance for sleet/snow mix tonight. This reduces to a 60% chance for snow/sleet during the day Thursday with conditions clearing by night. Clear conditions continue until Sunday when there will be a 20% chance for rain. Hazardous Weather: Scattered thunderstorms can be expected early this morning across coastal areas of extreme southeast Louisiana. The stronger thunderstorms will remain out over the adjacent Gulf coastal waters. A little snow and light sleet may mix with rain at times late tonight across those areas of southeast Louisiana to the north and northwest of Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas. No accumulation of snow or sleet is expected. A small craft advisory is in effect for the tidal lakes and Gulf coastal waters. This advisory is upgraded to a gale warning for the outer Gulf coastal waters west of the Mississippi River this afternoon and tonight and the outer Gulf coastal waters east of the Mississippi River tonight. Winds will increase to 20 to 30 knots today and tonight across the near coastal waters and from 25 to 35 knots across the outer coastal waters. Seas will build up to 10 feet in the outer coastal waters. A little snow and light sleet may mix with rain at times during the day Thursday across those areas of southeast Louisiana to the north and northwest of Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas. No accumulation of snow or sleet is expected. A small craft advisory will be in effect for the tidal lakes and the Gulf coastal waters Thursday and Thursday night as strong offshore flow continues. Central Louisiana: There will be a 70% chance for rain today turning into a 70% chance for a snow/sleet mix tonight. Thursday the chance for the snow/sleet mix lowers to 40% during the day with conditions clearing up by nighttime. Conditions will remain clear until Sunday when there is a 20% chance for rain. Hazardous Weather: A cold and windy day is in store for the region today in the wake of a cold front which passed on Tuesday evening. A lake wind advisory has been issued for the parishes and counties along and south of Interstate 10 over southwest Louisiana. Meanwhile rain will gradually spread across the region this morning. Some snow or sleet is possible later this afternoon across the lakes region tonight for all of the forecast area. Accumulations are expected to be small at this time but officials and the public are urged to stay tuned for later updates on this developing weather situation Some rain and snow will linger into the morning hours on Thursday before tapering off from west to east during the remainder of the day. Dry weather is expected into Saturday as high pressure builds past the region. Small rain chances are then expected beginning Sunday and lingering into Tuesday as Gulf moisture returns to the area while weak disturbances aloft pass periodically. Northern Louisiana: There is a 30% chance for rain today turning into a 20% chance for a snow/sleet mix tonight. The chance for snow/sleet continues on Thursday during 828 S. Irma Boulevard, Building 3 Gonzales, Louisiana 70737 Telephone: (225) 621-8360 Fax: (225) 621-8362 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ascensionparish.net the day with conditions clearing up by nighttime. Conditions will remain clear until Sunday when there is a 20% chance for rain. Hazardous Weather: Temperatures continue to fall this morning across the region in the wake of a Canadian cold front. Wind chill readings have fallen into the 20s and lower 30s area wide. In addition a mixture of light rain and sleet was occurring across much of east Texas and was moving into northwest Louisiana. Moisture and lift associated with this system will bring a chance of wintry precipitation across most of the four state region by tonight. Up to one half inch of accumulation is possible mainly in north Louisiana tonight. Roads should remain clear of any ice or snow but elevated surfaces could freeze by late tonight or early Thursday morning. The best chance of accumulation in the region will be after midnight tonight mainly east of a Farmerville to the Many, Louisiana line. All precipitation should end before midday Thursday. 2. SEVERE WEATHER 9 DECEMBER 2008: The weather system that moved through Louisiana yesterday and early this morning ahead of a cold front produced severe weather in the central part of the State. A recap of damages and actions taken by local, State and other agencies is provided below: Actions by Parishes: a. LaSalle: A tornado was reported touching down near the community of Summerville that knocked down some trees and power lines. Two homes were destroyed and additional 2-5 homes damaged. The Parish OEP distributed tarps to affected residents. The parish also requested and received assistance from the local American Red Cross. Local power companies, law enforcement and fire fighting personnel assisted with recovery operations. There were no injuries or fatalities reported. There was no request for assistance or submission of a declaration of a state of emergency from the parish. b. Rapides: Two tornadoes touched down on England Air Park outside Alexandria with one home in the park sustaining heavy damage. Several businesses and vehicles also received damage. There was no report of any damages to the airport or flight line. A tornado also touched down near the community of Elmer with no damages reported. Some minor wind damage was reported along the outskirts of Alexandria. About 200 residents lost power as a result of the weather. By 1700 hours last night, less than 40 residents were still without power. Structural damage to homes and businesses range from moderate to major. Several vehicles were damaged due to windows being blown out due to the weather. Local law enforcement and fire service personnel assisted with recovery efforts. The Central Louisiana chapter of the American Red Cross also assisted local residents who were affected. There were no injuries or fatalities reported. There was no request for assistance or submission of a declaration of a state of emergency from the parish. c. Winn: While there were no reports of any structural damages to homes or businesses and no power outages, Winn Parish did report flooding of a couple of parish 828 S. Irma Boulevard, Building 3 Gonzales, Louisiana 70737 Telephone: (225) 621-8360 Fax: (225) 621-8362 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ascensionparish.net roads that caused the roads to be closed until the waters receded. There were no injuries or fatalities reported. There was no request for assistance or submission of a declaration of a state of emergency from the parish. d. Concordia: One church in the parish received some roof damage. There were no other damage reports or reports of any injuries or fatalities associated with the weather. At this time, there has been no request for assistance or submission of a declaration of a state of emergency from the parish.