New Orleans area residents on Monday stockpiled groceries, wrapped pipes and cranked up heat as the first major snowstorm in decades churned toward the region, shutting down schools and offices and causing the cancellation of most Martin Luther King Day events.
Forecasters said that roughly 4 to 6 inches of snow was expected to fall over the New Orleans area beginning late Monday and into Tuesday, which would be the most to blanket the humid region since the early 1960s.
Parish leaders closed government public schools and offices through Tuesday, while Jefferson and St. Charles parishes extended closures into Wednesday, citing the potential for ice on the roads. Many private schools, colleges and universities also said they would close or offer remote learning on Tuesday…