UPDATE: Highway 20 is now open to traffic.
Highway 20 in Chackbay is closed to traffic in both directions in the 1200 block until further notice. All motorists should use an alternate route.
Cold weather can bring extreme cold, freezing rain, snow, ice, and high winds, and can create a higher risk of car accidents, hypothermia, frostbite, carbon monoxide poisoning, heart attacks from overexertion, as well as be a contributing factor to house fires when heating appliances are not properly used.
Protect yourself and your loved ones during a cold weather. Take extra steps to make sure you heat your home safely, and follow the tips below. Heat your home safely. If you plan to use a wood stove, fireplace, or space heater, be extremely careful. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and remember these safety tips:
If you need to report a fire or medical emergency, please call 9-1-1. 1. Stay off roads. Prepare your home to keep out the cold with insulation, caulking, and weather stripping. Learn how to keep pipes from freezing. Install and test smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors with battery backups. Stay off roads if at all possible. Frostbite causes loss of feeling and color around the face, fingers, and toes. Signs of frostbite include numbness, white or grayish-yellow skin and/or firm or waxy skin. If you suspect you have frostbite, go to a warm room. Soak in warm water or use body heat to warm yourself. Do not massage or use a heating pad. The National Weather Service has issued a freeze warning for Southeast Louisiana, which includes the communities of Choctaw, Kraemer, Chackbay, and Thibodaux.
The freeze warning is in effect from 10:00 PM on Monday, November 30th, until 8:00 AM on Tuesday, December 1st. Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold. To prevent freezing and possible bursting of outdoor pipes, they should be wrapped, drained, or allowed to drop slowly. For more information on how to stay safe during a freeze warning, please visit the WINTER WEATHER section of our website. To view the official alert, click HERE. At this time, everyone in Lafourche Parish should be SHELTERING IN PLACE. Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies are reporting a large number of cars on the road.
Conditions are deteriorating RAPIDLY as this storm continues to strengthen (currently a strong Category 2). If you are not already, get to a safe place immediately and prepare to ride out the storm. #Zeta A TORNADO WATCH is in effect for North and Central Lafourche Parish -- which includes the Choctaw, Chackbay and Bayou Boeuf areas -- until 12:00 AM.
Click HERE to view the official alert. A HURRICANE WARNING is in effect for Upper Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, including the City of Thibodaux and the communities of Choctaw, Chackbay, and Bayou Boeuf; dangerous and damaging winds are likely to occur.
A HURRICANE WARNING is issued up to thirty-six (36) hours before hazardous conditions begin. Urgently complete efforts to protect life and property. Have enough food, water, cash, fuel and medications for at least three (3) days. Follow instructions from local officials. Click HERE to view the official alert from the National Weather Service. For a list of links to important contact information, please click HERE. A HURRICANE WATCH is in effect for Upper Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, including the City of Thibodaux and the communities of Choctaw, Chackbay, and Bayou Boeuf.
A HURRICANE WATCH means hurricane-force winds are possible somewhere within this area within the next forty-eight (48) hours. Click HERE to view the official alert from the National Weather Service. For a list of links to important contact information, please click HERE. The 2020 hurricane season continues to overachieve as Hurricane Zeta formed Monday as it heads toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The storm is taking a track similar to Hurricane Delta, striking near Cozumel and then heading towards the Northern Gulf Coast.
Zeta is located about 120 miles southeast of Cozumel, with maximum winds of 80 mph, the National Hurricane Center said Monday afternoon. It was moving northwest at 10 mph. Forecasters predict Zeta will be a low-end hurricane, but it is not expected to be nearly as strong as Hurricane Delta just weeks ago. The system will make landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula near Cancun and Cozumel on Monday night and Tuesday morning. Like Delta, it may weaken briefly over land. On Tuesday, as the system reemerges over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, it is forecast to gain a little of its strength back, likely regaining hurricane intensity and staying that way until Wednesday afternoon as it moves north. But on Wednesday, it should run into strong upper-level winds as it nears the Gulf Coast, where the official forecast calls for slight weakening at landfall Wednesday evening. The hurricane center's forecast cone shows landfall anywhere between southeast Louisiana and the Alabama Coast. This would be the eighth storm to make landfall along the Gulf Coast this season, with the highest concentration in Louisiana. Computer models call for continued intensification before the system makes landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula because the system is located over the warmest pool of water in the hemisphere and upper-level winds are becoming more favorable for development. Zeta is the 27th named system of the 2020 season, which is running over a month ahead of the record pace set back in 2005. That year featured 28 tropical storms, and the last did not form until the end of December. That puts 2020 well on track to either tie or break the all-time record for the number of named storms in the Atlantic in one season. UPDATED AT 9:00AM
EVACUATIONS: All evacuations orders in Lafourche Parish have been LIFTED. ROAD CLOSURES: Louisiana Highway One is now OPEN south of the Leon Theriot Lock in Golden Meadow. All bridges in Lafourche Parish have resumed normal operations. Go to 511la.org for all state road closures. |