Rare snow covers south Louisiana, Miss

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a rare snowfall event in south Louisiana and parts of Mississippi, including its impacts on daily life, personal experiences with snow, and comparisons to other weather events. Participants share their reactions to the snowfall, anecdotes about snow experiences, and observations about related weather conditions in other regions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express surprise at the amount of snowfall, noting it as an unusual occurrence for the region.
  • Others question the characterization of the snowfall as "rare," citing their own experiences with similar snowfalls in other locations.
  • Several participants share personal anecdotes about their first experiences with snow, highlighting the novelty for many in the affected areas.
  • There are comments on the quality of snowmen built by locals, with some participants offering humorous critiques.
  • Discussion includes mentions of severe weather conditions in New England, with participants expressing concern for those affected by ice storms and power outages.
  • One participant notes the historical context of snowfall in southern Mississippi, suggesting it has occurred in the past but is infrequent.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the rarity of the snowfall, with differing views on what constitutes "rare" snow. There is also a mix of experiences shared regarding snow, indicating a variety of perspectives on the event.

Contextual Notes

Some statements reflect personal experiences that may vary widely among individuals, and there are references to specific weather conditions that may not be universally applicable. The discussion also touches on the impact of weather on infrastructure and daily life, which may differ based on location.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in weather phenomena, regional climate discussions, and personal narratives about snow experiences may find this discussion relevant.

Evo
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Holy Cow, EIGHT INCHES! That's unreal.

A rare snowfall blanketed south Louisiana and parts of Mississippi Thursday, closing schools, government offices and bridges, triggering crashes on major highways and leaving thousands of people without power.

Parts of Louisiana were expected to get up to four inches of snow. Snow also covered a broad swath of Mississippi, including the Jackson area, and closed schools in more than a dozen districts. The National Weather Service in Jackson said up to 8 inches was possible in the southern and eastern parts of the state.
:bugeye:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081211/ap_on_re_us/south_winter_weather
 
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It's just not fair. Even louisiana gets eight inches? Bugger.
 
How is it rare? I've seen that kind of snow all over the place. Now, if it was something like blue snow, then you could call it rare.
 
These guys need some serious practice. These are some of the most pathetic snowmen I've ever seen. (Especially photos 12 & 14. The picture in between of the dog was an interesting choice of subject, though.)

http://www.9reports.com/MediaItemView.aspx?id=36225
 
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BobG said:
These guys need some serious practice. These are some of the most pathetic snowmen I've ever seen. (Especially photos 12 & 14. The picture in between of the dog was an interesting choice of subject, though.)

http://www.9reports.com/MediaItemView.aspx?id=36225
Got to love the dog picture. D H's snowman is far superior to any shown at that news site. Of course he is a PF Member, we would expect no less. :approve:

https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=1996872&postcount=10
 
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I wonder how many of those people saw snow for the first time in their lives.
 
WarPhalange said:
I wonder how many of those people saw snow for the first time in their lives.
I was over 16 years old the first time I saw snow. Until then it was something I'd only seen on tv or in movies. It was weird to actually experience it for the first time at that age. I have a freezer and had snowcones, so I had a good idea of what it felt like, but had never experienced it falling from the sky. Although I get tired of it now, I still have a bit of a fascination with it.
 
Evo said:
Got to love the dog picture. D H's snowman is far superior to any shown at that news site. Of course he is a PF Member, we would expect no less. :approve:

Well den, dat's because I know how to build 'em, you betcha. Some of that Minnesota education finally paid off.
 
DH, that is a really great snowman. I'd like to get some rare snow, but to date all of ours has been the regular type.
 
  • #10
WarPhalange said:
I wonder how many of those people saw snow for the first time in their lives.

Just about anyone under the age of 20.

My parents have lived in Baton Rouge for about 30 years and this was only the second time there's been enough snow for things like snowmen. The other was in 1988. It was like DH's snowman where it took every single bit of snow in the yard to build one snowman.

(His is good, but he still has an awful lot of leaves and grass in his snowman. Kind of unavoidable.)
 
  • #11
i think that southern MS got hit like this back in like the 40's. up here in central AL, our freak snow tends to come late, like march/april-ish.
 
  • #12
New England has been hit hard. I hope turbo is doing ok.

Ice storms knock power out across NY, New England

A powerful ice storm knocked out power to more than 1 million homes and businesses across New York and New England on Friday, closing roads and forcing the state of Maine to shut government offices.

"This is a very, very serious situation right now," New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch said after declaring an emergency in his state, where as many as 320,000 customers lost power in what local authorities describe as the worst outages in three decades.

"I don't think anyone anticipated it would be as bad as it is," Lynch said.

Massachusetts deployed about 500 National Guard troops to clear roads and help residents, while utilities officials from across the region said outages could grow as gusts of wind continue to snap tree limbs and bring down power lines.

Power may not return to thousands in Massachusetts until Monday at the earliest, Gov. Deval Patrick said. "Many of us view that as an ambitious estimate at this point," he told a news conference.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081212/us_nm/us_utilities_newengland_outages
 
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  • #13
Evo said:
New England has been hit hard. I hope turbo is doing ok.

Ice storms knock power out across NY, New England
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081212/us_nm/us_utilities_newengland_outages
We're doing OK, and still have power (crossing fingers, knocking on wood...). Out here, there are few people, and the power company always goes after the low-hanging fruit. If they can restore power to a part of town with more people, they will, every time. I have a generator in case the power goes out. I sure hate shoveling slush, though. It was warm and not too windy, but it's never fun shoveling several inches of saturated snow in the pouring rain. (Oooh! My back!)
 
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  • #14
turbo-1 said:
We're doing OK, and still have power (crossing fingers, knocking on wood...). Out here, there are few people, and the power company always goes after the low-hanging fruit. If they can restore power to a part of town with more people, they will, every time. I have a generator in case the power goes out. I sure hate shoveling slush, though. It was warm and not too windy, but it's never fun shoveling several inches of saturated snow in the pouring rain. (Oooh! My back!)
Glad the outage missed you! We've been lucky so far this year, the first snow came right after the trees had dropped their leaves.
 
  • #15
Outages are still affecting hundreds of thousands, mostly in the southern part of the state. An astrophotographer friend on another forum posted images from his home in Lafayette, LA. What a shocker! Snow in Louisiana.