Louisiana has faced a series of climate issues in recent years, from hurricanes to wildfires, and now, snow.
This past week, a historic snowstorm hit New Orleans, with approximately 10 inches falling last Tuesday. The last time the city saw this much snow was in 1895 — 130 years ago.
Locals, students and Tulane University faculty all watched in awe as the once-in-a-generation weather event froze the entire Gulf Coast. Due to the storm, classes were held remotely from Jan. 21 to 23.
Cold weather clothing sparks student ingenuity
Students took advantage of the time off school, building snowmen around campus, skiing on the backs of cars and going ice skating in front of the business school.
Members of the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity spent their snow day outdoors. Other fraternities hosted snow-themed parties, dubbed “snarties” by students.
“We’re enjoying the weather. We’re having a couple snowball fights and sledding around the streets. Just making the most of it,” KA member senior Yogi Devre said.
Senior Ellen Schaezler recounts how she always leaves her cold-weather clothes at home in Kansas City, Kansas because she never thought she would need them in New Orleans. To compensate, she made makeshift gloves out of socks.
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“I put socks on my hands, and I put grocery bags over top of the socks to waterproof them,” Schaezler said. “And it worked. It looked stupid. It was silly, but it worked… I mean who expects snow in New Orleans?”
With over a third of Tulane students coming from warmer-climate states, a significant number of students reported lacking weather-appropriate clothing.
“I honestly was not prepared for how cold it was because I’m from California, and it’s usually warm [in New Orleans],” sophomore Jasmine Bartlett said. “I don’t have a puffer jacket, I don’t have scarves or gloves or a beanie or anything.”
Campus closed, employees stayed overnight
During this unprecedented weather event, essential staff from Campus Services, the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response, Tulane University Police Department, Tulane Hospitality, medical and clinic staff and many others stayed on campus overnight.
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“This allowed these dedicated personnel to continue providing vital services and operations university-wide while avoiding hazardous travel to and from campuses throughout the winter storm,” Tulane spokesperson Mike Strecker wrote in a statement to The Tulane Hullabaloo. “This is standard operating procedure for weather events, including hurricanes or winter storms like the one we just experienced.”
All Tulane Hospitality team members received an increased rate for all hours spent on campus, and overtime when applicable, according to Strecker.
The Dining Room at Malkin Sacks Commons senior cashier Demetra Crayton has lived in New Orleans for 58 years. Crayton was not on campus when the storm hit, so she was stuck in her home and said she “lost out on pay” because she couldn’t get to work.
“For me, living here all my life, me and cold weather don’t mix,” Crayton said. “It was something that I would never want to experience again. It was amazing for everybody else, because they seem to enjoy playing in the snow. But as for me, I couldn’t do it.”
Local businesses suffer financial impact
Hot Stuff, a casual Southern lunch spot on Maple Street, remained closed on Jan. 22 and 23.
“The main issue was business closure and loss of sales. […] We lost two days of sales and seemingly because of the continued cold temperatures people weren’t getting out as much, leading to lower than average sales on the days that we were open,” Hot Stuff chef Nate Barfield said in a statement to The Hullabaloo.
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The widespread freeze caused an estimated economic loss of $14-$17 billion across the entire South, according to AccuWeather.
Located on Magazine Street, the French bakery La Boulangerie opened its doors early Wednesday morning to feed hungry neighbors and avoid food waste despite 10 inches of snow still on the ground.
Maggie Scales, a partner owner of La Boulangerie, began baking croissants at 7 a.m., and, to her surprise, the restaurant sold out of food by noon.
“By maybe 9 a.m., we had a line all the way around the [pastry] case and all the way to the back door,” Scales said.
Despite the busy breakfast service, La Boulangerie lost a full day of revenue during one of its busiest seasons.
“As things are opening, please go to the small businesses. All of our restaurants closed fully on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then opened for dinner on Thursday. So, we just lost a ton of revenue,” Scales said.
A chilling indicator of climate change
Tulane’s director of environmental and urban studies professor Laura McKinney, like many others, appreciated the snowfall but found it worrisome because it marked a stark departure from Louisiana’s usual weather patterns.
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“It was totally unexpected, and it was quite surreal, because I have a three year old and it was enchanting to be with her and to build snowmen,” McKinney said. “But it was equally dystopian, because it should not be snowing like this in Southeastern Louisiana. The conflict there, the tension there was not lost on me.”
McKinney attributes the storm to climate change, explaining how it contributes to extreme and unpredictable weather patterns like the recent snowstorm.
“Climate change is all about increases in variability,” McKinney said. “[The snowstorm was] a perfect epitome of those odd weather events there that are indicative of the larger process of climate change.”
McKinney warns that unpredictable weather events will likely become more frequent with the increasing threat of climate change, whether that be heat, rain, hurricanes or snowstorms.
“These exceptional weather events are going to become more common, and to the degree that we can prepare and take actions to mitigate the rapid climate change, we’ll be better off for it,” McKinney said.
Despite her warning to prepare for increasingly extreme weather events, McKinney does not think Louisianans need to start stockpiling snow gear just yet.
“Never did I think it would have been necessary to own a snowsuit, but I would have gotten a lot of use out of it,” McKinney said. “Personally, I am not pulling the trigger on purchasing snowsuits for my family, but if people want to do that, I guess I could understand why.”
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