Louisiana
With the power out and roads closed, northern Louisiana continues to struggle after winter storm
Tens of thousands remained without power Tuesday in north and central Louisiana as residents braced for more below-freezing temperatures, even as south Louisiana was mostly spared from the worst of the week’s severe winter weather.
Over the weekend, a winter storm that has ravaged much of the country blanketed the upper half of the state with snow and ice, snapping trees and bringing down power lines.
By Tuesday morning, the death toll related to the storm had climbed to at least six, state officials reported. The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed that three people died of hypothermia, with two other suspected hypothermia deaths.
One man died of carbon monoxide poisoning and another died in a fatal wreck related to icy conditions, the agency said. A woman also died after her oxygen concentrator failed during a power outage, according to the agency.
Meanwhile, road conditions prevented some residents from evacuating their homes and shut down parts of the northern parishes.
Drivers were stranded for as many as 20 hours on Interstate 20, according to social media reports, as stuck 18-wheelers near Arcadia and Ruston brought traffic to a standstill. Louisiana State Police troopers conducted supply drops, welfare checks and ATV evacuations in the area.
As of late afternoon Tuesday, over 90,000 customers still lacked power, according to poweroutage.us.
An accumulation of a wintry mix from the recent storm highlights a sandbar in the Red River on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, seen from Shreveport, La.
Gov. Jeff Landy toured East and West Carroll parishes by air on Tuesday, when he also met with leaders in Ouachita and Richland parishes to discuss the effects of the storm. Landry has said he is contacting the White House in hopes of getting federal aid.
East Carroll shuts down
The storm’s impact was especially pronounced in East Carroll Parish, which lost power almost entirely.
“It’s been catastrophic,” Sheriff Wydette Williams said. “We’ve had storms before, but the way the power lines and trees snapped like toothpicks, I’ve never saw this before.”
The hospital, prisons, a grocery store and other public spaces were relying on backup generators, Williams said.
It was unclear when power would be restored.
“We have received word from Entergy that they have run into far more problems than anticipated,” the sheriff’s office posted on Facebook. “They are in the parish on the ground working diligently, but they cannot commit to a definitive time and date when electrical services will be restored.”
Residents in East Carroll also lost water service, and some struggled to keep medical devices running amid the outage, according to a release from Delta Interfaith, a coalition of congregations and community organizations in the Louisiana Delta. Blocked roads prevented some residents from evacuating, the release said.
Before the storm, Prudence Grissom bought a propane heater for her East Carroll home. “They advertise that it’s safe indoors,” she said. But just to be sure, the 70-year-old placed it in a doorway, leading to a hallway. Over the course of the weekend, Grissom found herself sleeping for six-hour stretches, struggling to wake up.
Children sled on a wintry mix Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Shreveport, La.
A friend called, and on Sunday, when Grissom failed to pick up, alerted the sheriff’s office. A deputy knocked loud enough that Grissom awoke.
“At that point, I said, ‘OK, it has to be this heater,’” she said. “I haven’t been using it since.”
Instead, Grissom donned three sweaters, two pairs of pants and several sets of socks. She lit candles. She watched from her window as ice-coated tree branches snapped and fell.
Grissom moved to East Carroll a decade ago to care for her mother. She is from New Orleans, where after Hurricane Katrina, she lived without power for weeks.
“You put one step in front of another,” she said. “You do the best you can.”
Upcoming temperatures
The Baton Rouge, Lafayette and New Orleans areas were expected to see lows in the upper 20s and lower 30s Tuesday and Wednesday nights, according to the National Weather Service, which forecast that temperatures would stay in the low 40s Thursday night.
Meanwhile, temperatures near Shreveport, Monroe and Alexandria would be in the 20s Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and hover just above freezing on Thursday night, the agency predicted.
The state is expected to see temperatures drop again over the weekend, when nighttime temperatures could dip into the teens near Monroe, Alexandria, Baton Rouge and Lafayette.
Officials have urged residents to follow safety instructions when using devices like space heaters and generators, and to avoid driving in north and central Louisiana.
The state has opened dozens of warming centers that are available to the public. Residents looking for more information on how to stay safe during the storm can visit getagameplan.org.
Louisiana ranks among the top 10 most affordable states to retire, according to a new study from Retirement Living, a national journal of retirement research.
Researchers analyzed each state’s housing costs, living expenses and tax friendliness to compile the ranking. Louisiana, they say, is the eighth most affordable state for retirees.
In Louisiana, the median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $932, the median home sale price is $255,000, monthly grocery spend per capita is $272, the average price per gallon of regular gas is $4, the average Medicare Advantage monthly premium is $13.35 and the average effective property tax rate is 0.55%.
West Virginia is the most affordable state to retire, followed by Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Louisiana, Indiana and Kansas. Researchers describe the South as “the sweet spot for an affordable retirement.”
The most expensive state to retire, meanwhile, is California, followed by Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Utah, New York and Minnesota.
Read Retirement Living’s full report here.
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – With hurricane season approaching, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority is bringing the community together to prepare before a storm forms.
“We can’t stop disasters from happening. We can’t stop hurricanes from happening. But what we can do is equip our communities with the resources that they need to prepare for these storms ahead of time,” said Jayda Morris, CPRA outreach manager.
The agency hosted an event featuring interactive storm simulations and a full model of the Mississippi River.
“If you do it now, like on a sunny day like today, you’re ready to go for the rest of the season,” Jay Grymes said.
El Niño may reduce storms, but Louisiana still at risk
State Climatologist Jay Grymes said an El Niño pattern may reduce the number of storms in the Atlantic but warned against a false sense of security.
“In those 25 years, Louisiana, some part of the state has been impacted by 29 storms. That’s one a year, regardless of El Niño. So that should tell you something,” Grymes said.
He said the bigger concern is storms that can form in the Gulf with little warning.
“If we’re going to get a storm, it very possibly could be one that bubbles up in the Gulf and doesn’t give us five or seven days to track it coming our way. It gives us 40 hours to get ready for a landfall. So it’s imperative that you go ahead and do it now,” Grymes said.
Preparation goes beyond stocking water
Preparing now includes walking through yards, checking trees, and knowing whether everyone in the family can survive two weeks without power.
PhD students with the LSU College of the Coast and Environment gave the community a virtual reality experience that puts users inside a storm.
“If they wear the goggles or play with the Apple Vision Pro, they can understand how high will the flood be, and they can know how dangerous is the hurricane scenario,” said Yixuan Wang.
The VR simulation uses real historical data to show users what compound flooding looks like in New Orleans and surrounding areas. The goal is to make the science real for people who can’t picture what a flood map means.
“It’s just to let you understand the environment. We will add the audios, the different sound of the wind and the storm. And you can see how tense of the rainfall around you,” Wang said.
Organizers said the event is about making sure that when a storm threatens the area, families already know their plan.
Information from the event is available on CPRA’s website. Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.
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BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Louisiana homeowners can get financial help to upgrade their roofs and ensure they can better stand up to strong storms.
According to the Louisiana Department of Insurance, registration for next Louisiana Fortify Homes Program lottery opens at 8 a.m. on Monday, June 1. The registration period will stay open through 5 p.m. on Friday, June 19.
Under the latest round of the program, 3,000 grants of up to $10,000 will go out. After applying, homeowners will get placed into a lottery and will be randomly selected.
There are many specific benefits of having a roof upgraded through the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program. Officials said the roofs have stronger shingles that can protect against hail up to two inches wide, sealed roof decks to help prevent water damage, and stronger edges to keep wind from getting underneath.
Homeowners with a fortified roof can also get a certificate to receive a discount on insurance premiums.
“At the end of the day, this program is about more than just roofs,” said Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple. “It is about protecting families, it is about strengthening communities, and it is about putting Louisiana in a stronger position—both physically and economically—to face the challenges ahead.”
Only people living in Ascension Parish, Livingston Parish, Assumption Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Acadia Parish, Calcasieu Parish, Cameron Parish, Iberia Parish, Jefferson Parish, Jefferson Davis Parish, Lafayette Parish, Lafourche Parish, Orleans Parish, Plaquemines Parish, St. Bernard Parish, St. Charles Parish, St. James Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Martin Parish, St. Mary Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Terrebonne Parish, and Vermilion Parish are eligible to apply for the latest round of the program.
People living in a newly built home, mobile home, or condominium are not qualified.
For a detailed list of eligibility requirements, click here.
If a person registered for the program previously, he or she must do so again. The person will also need to provide the following information:
- A homestead exemption on the primary residence.
- A policy of insurance that provides wind coverage for the primary residence.
- A flood insurance policy on the primary residence if it is in a special flood hazard area.
For more information about applying, click here.
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