Winter Storm — Webster, Louisiana

2011-01-09 · Webster, Louisiana

Event narrative

A 2003 GMC Envoy was westbound on Interstate 20 when it's driver lost control. The vehicle slid down an embankment and hit a tree. Bridges and overpasses were coated with ice and was considered a contributing factor in the accident.

Wider weather episode

A significant winter storm affected the northern half of Northwest and North Central Louisiana on Sunday, January 9th. This storm system moved out of the Texas Hill Country late on January 8th and moved into the Southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley during the day Sunday, January 9th. An area of low pressure at the surface and in the lower levels of the atmosphere developed offshore the Southeast Texas Gulf Coast and remained offshore the Louisiana Gulf Coast during the day of the event. This low pressure system helped to feed moisture into the region from the south. Initially, the lower levels of the atmosphere were very dry, but lift provided by the storm system helped to moisten and cool the lower levels of the atmosphere such a combination of freezing rain, sleet and snow were the result across the northern half of Northwest and North Central Louisiana. While snowfall totals were on the light side, freezing rain and sleet totals ranged from one quarter to one half inch along and north of the Interstate 20 corridor of northern Louisiana with a few reports of snow near one inch across extreme Northwest Louisiana. The following are freezing rain reports across Northwest and North Central Louisiana: one half inch in Benton, Homer, Ruston and Farmerville, one quarter of an inch in Shreveport, Bienville, and Monroe. In addition to the freezing rain, sleet and snow totals were as follows: one inch in Shreveport, Bossier City, Benton and Springhill. There were numerous reports of traffic accidents across Northwest and North Central Louisiana, including 3 vehicular fatalities across the northern half of the state. There were also reports of isolated power outages.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 267219. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.