Summary

The Southern Snowpocalypse of 2021 has left residents in northwest Louisiana grappling with unprecedented winter conditions, leading to widespread power outages, water shortages, and significant disruptions to daily life.

Abstract

The Southern Snowpocalypse of 2021 has brought about extreme weather conditions that the region of northwest Louisiana is ill-equipped to handle. Residents have endured rolling blackouts, a lack of water due to frozen and burst pipes, and have resorted to melting snow for essential needs. The infrastructure has faltered, with emergency services struggling to operate on icy roads and a boil advisory issued for most of the state due to low water pressure. Supermarkets face shortages, and social media has become a platform for those seeking basic necessities. The situation has highlighted the South's lack of preparedness for severe winter weather, as they lack the equipment and experience common in northern regions. The community has shown resilience, with neighbors supporting each other and truckers stranded at truck stops being fed by nearby residents. A collective sigh of relief is anticipated with the arrival of warmer temperatures promising a thaw.

Opinions

The author likens their experience of being snowed in to the psychological thriller The Shining, indicating a sense of isolation and cabin fever.
There is a palpable sense of disbelief and humor as the author questions why people are still attempting to drive in such treacherous conditions.
The author expresses a mix of frustration and solidarity, noting the lack of preparedness in the South for such weather events, in contrast to the North's readiness.
Despite the hardships, the author conveys a sense of community and adaptability as residents come together to help one another, such as a local fire captain using his tractor to clear a hospital ramp and neighborhoods feeding str

Twelve Observations about the Southern Snowpocalypse of 2021

We are not accustomed to this!

Snowmageddon in the South, 2021. After only four days of being snowed in, I am beginning to identify with Jack Nicholson in The Shining.

After all these decades (not saying how many!) in northwest Louisiana, I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like this snow event.

Here we are, four days into this:

1. Rolling blackouts. In neighboring Texas there are people that have been without power for days in subfreezing temperatures. In the northwest corner of Louisiana, where I am, we have had rolling blackouts on the coldest day on historic record. The power grids are failing.

2. No water. Because the power grid is failing, pumps are failing at the water stations. Pipes are freezing, then the burst. Homes either have no water, or too much water.

3. People are gathering snow and melting it for drinkable water or to flush toilets. One woman has gone viral on Facebook for giving her child a bath in a crawfish pot.

4. Boil advisory: most of the northern and central part of the state is under a boil advisory because there is little to no water pressure.

5. Emergency vehicles, ambulances, are either stranded, stuck, or can’t get up hospital ramps because of ice and slick roads. Wreckers and tow trucks are no longer responding. A local fire captain took his tractor to clear the ramp of one hospital.

6. People are still out trying to drive. Why?!

7. Grocery stores are out of food; well, they are out of water, bread, lunch meat, that sort of thing. A few grocery stores are opening with skeleton staff for a few hours each day; the lines inside wrap around the store. Self-checkout is the only option.

8. Social media is filled with people looking for open pharmacies (they missed the boil advisory and have …. gastric issues); people are begging neighbors for milk, baby formula, bottled water.

9. There are at least thirty-six broken water mains across the city of Shreveport.

10. We have not been above freezing in four days.

11. Lakes, ponds, and bayous are freezing over.

12. Truckers are stranded at truck stops; cars are abandoned on the interstate. Nearby neighborhoods are feeding them in parking lots because the truck stops are out of food.

Are we in a third-world country? No, we are just in the south where we are woefully unprepared for such weather. People in the north laugh at us (“We measure snow in feet, not in inches!”), but we don’t have chains for our tires, or snowplows, or even salt/sand for our streets and bridges. We don’t have years of experience with this kind of weather.

Fortunately, the great thaw is coming — tomorrow.

Give me some hot, humid summertime weather any day! You guys up north can keep your snow!