Weather upending routines and causing havoc is nothing new for New Orleans, which has contended with hurricanes, heat waves and the occasional ice storm.
But snow? Not so much. The city went 15 years without measurable snow until Tuesday morning.
“I would call it a poet’s snow,” waxed Kevin Bennett, a writer who pulled a folding chair outside in the French Quarter to smoke a cigarette in the blur of whirling white flakes. “I love it.”
For the vulnerable, though, the bitter cold was a real danger. “It’s horrible, in its own beautiful way,” said Chad Rigsby, 52, after he pulled off the blanket he had slept under on Monday night.
Major highways and bridges were closed on Tuesday. Many roadways had become impassable. Classes were canceled in local schools, and many businesses could not open as the snow essentially brought New Orleans to a standstill. Officials warned residents to hunker down, since the snow was expected to continue through the day.
Gov. Jeff Landry said the same entreaty applied to a vast swath of the state, as forecasters predicted levels of snowfall that could break records. “This creates a very dangerous situation, not only for travel but for people, pipes, pets and plants,” Mr. Landry, a Republican, said in a news conference on Monday.
Jay Grymes, a longtime television meteorologist in Baton Rouge who became the state climatologist last year, said the state had not experienced wintry conditions like this since the 1960s.
Four inches or more of snow were expected across the state, from the border with Texas to the border with Mississippi. Mr. Grymes warned residents they should anticipate staying put until at least Wednesday and possibly into Thursday.
Some of the rhythms of responding to hurricanes were evident during the snowstorm, like cooking up pots of gumbo and pans of fried chicken, and using up perishable foods in the refrigerator and freezer.
There were also fears about those exposed to the elements, particularly the homeless.
Joycelyn Scott, an outreach worker for Unity of Greater New Orleans, a group of agencies supporting the homeless, drove a van around the city, picking up some people who were eager for shelter and convincing others they needed to find somewhere safe. On Monday, she pleaded with a group of people sleeping on the steps of the main branch of the New Orleans Public Library.
“We are not accustomed to this kind of weather, this much snow,” Ms. Scott said.
On most nights, there would be 15 to 20 people sleeping out. By 9 p.m. Monday, she and her team had gotten it down to eight. A few had agreed to come inside after sleeping out on Sunday night, when temperatures dipped to 29 degrees.
But that experience had made Kelvin Easley, 54, feel more confident he could handle the conditions on his own. “It was very cold — very,” he said. “But I’m going to be all right.”
“You need a hat?” Ms. Scott asked, “Some socks?”
“A hat for me, over here?” asked one man, sticking his head out of a pile of blankets covered with a tarp.
“That’s all I needed,” he said. “Now let the snow come.”
Katy Reckdahl reported from New Orleans, and Rick Rojas from Atlanta.
