About two weeks ago, New Orleans experienced a historic snowfall, receiving almost 10 inches of snow. As a New Orleans local, I am more than acclimated to hot temperatures and the inevitable flooding that occurs every time it rains. Winters are practically non-existent in this city.
I have no recollection of when it snowed in 2009, only vague memories of school being canceled due to warnings of snowfall. Of course, I was disappointed every time, as the most we would get were icy roads and hail.
My first time seeing snow was in New York City when I was around five years old. Unfortunately, some native New Orleanians go their entire life without ever seeing snow.
The idea of actual snow in New Orleans did not make any sense to me. Quite frankly, I was informed of this news by my Tulane University peers, as my home friends and family were also unconvinced that it was going to snow. From a local’s perspective, the New Orleans weather reports have not always been reliable. 
Last year, there were warnings that snowfall would occur the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so school was canceled. Unfortunately, the only “snow” I saw was icicles on the window. I thought the so-called warnings were just another false alarm — I was convinced I would not see snow in New Orleans.
However, at 7 a.m. on Jan. 21, I woke up to a series of text messages from my friends saying, “It’s snowing! It’s real!”
“Yeah, right,” I thought as I put my phone down to go back to sleep. However, something told me I ought to at least look out the window, so I could tell my friends “I told you so.” Once I turned over and peered out of the blinds, I could not believe my eyes.
There was so much snow I could hardly see the ground. I called my friends and family who were in complete shock. I kept hearing everyone say, “There is beaucoup snow outside!” It wouldn’t be New Orleans if a bit of our dialect wasn’t used.
Wanting to enjoy the snow as much as possible before it melted, I took pictures, had snowball fights and made snow angels. The Bourbon Street terrorist attack that occurred on New Year’s Day resulted in a period of mourning for my city. New Orleans would not let such hate undermine the city’s beauty and historical resilience. Yet the question, “How could something like this happen?” constantly lingered.
With the snowfall taking place a mere two weeks after the attack, the eerie feelings temporarily faded away. Following the attack, the French Quarter and Canal Street were surrounded by police officers, press and federal investigators — just two weeks later, I saw images of snowball fights and hockey games taking place there.
At the beginning of January, New Orleans was featured in national headlines due to the terrorist attack, which was described as “unbelievable” by locals. At the end of the month, headlines and articles were discussing the record-breaking snowfall, described once again as “unbelievable.”
January was truly unbelievable for the city of New Orleans.