Although not in my upcoming book, Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure, I thought I’d give a little history lesson this week since most of America is covered in cold weather right now. Twenty years ago, on January 12, 1997, an ice storm crippled southwest Louisiana. The ice storm lasted for two days. The Gulf Coast usually receives freezing rain. Rarely do they get an ice storm.
An Arctic air mass brought cold temperatures to the region on January 5. A stronger blast of cold air arrived five days later. The computer models forecasted precipitation from the eleventh to the thirteenth. A light snow fell on Lake Charles from 11 p.m. on January 11 to 2 a.m. the next day. Precipitation fell in a wide area after sunrise on the twelfth. It continued for the next two days. Northern Louisiana received up to six inches of snow. South of the I-10 corridor, it was all freezing rain. Folks north of I-10 got sleet. As expected, the roads became treacherous and many of them closed. Trees collapsed under the weight of the ice and power lines snapped. Calcasieu Parish bore the brunt of the ice storm. Some schools closed for up to six days. Most businesses shut down for the week. All of this from a half inch to an inch of ice.
The temperature didn’t rise above freezing until the afternoon of January 14, 1997. Almost half a million people were without power. Many reports came in from people wanting to watch the NFL playoffs but were unable to do so. With the mercury now over 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the ice melted and caused more problems. As it fell from rooftops and treetops, the ice chunks brought down more power lines. This was Louisiana’s costliest natural disaster before Hurricane Katrina, with damages in the millions of dollars. For more information, check out this blog.
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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what book I have my nose in. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read. I’m still reading Double Whammy by Carl Hiaasen and Bloom County: Brand Spanking New Day by Berkeley Breathed. I encourage you to read a variety of topics.