textproduct: New Orleans/Baton Rouge

KEY MESSAGES

Updated at 1212 PM CST Mon Jan 26 2026

1. Extreme cold temperatures and wind chills are expected to continue tonight into Tuesday morning, with widespread freezing conditions again Wednesday morning. Take action to protect the 4 Ps: People, Pets, Pipes, and Plants. Also keep in mind that home fires are most likely during the winter months due to increased use of fireplaces and portable heaters. Follow all recommended safety precautions when heating your home during this cold snap.

2. Strong winds and rough seas will lead to hazardous conditions across the coastal waters through Monday with the strongest winds tonight. Inexperienced mariners and those operating small craft should avoid navigating until conditions improve.

3. Another strong cold front will pass through the area Friday into Saturday. The main threats from this system will be potential for another round of hard freeze conditions and another period of hazardous conditions across the coastal waters. The exact threats will continue to be refined in the next several days.

SHORT TERM

(This afternoon through Tuesday) Issued at 1212 PM CST Mon Jan 26 2026

Biggest impact for the short term remains the very cold temperatures especially tonight/tomorrow morning. Left the current Extreme Cold Warning in place due to having well below normal temperatures for the area for a relatively prolonged period. While we might not strictly meet the criteria for every spot tonight, felt it was prudent just to leave it as is instead of trying to cancel and reissue with a Cold Weather Advisory which would just cause confusion with the messaging. Temperatures will still remain below freezing for 8 to 14 hours easily. Temperatures will warm slightly for Tuesday with highs in the 40s to 50s.

LONG TERM

(Tuesday night through Sunday) Issued at 1212 PM CST Mon Jan 26 2026 For Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, there is some potential for a Cold Weather Advisory for areas since forecast lows are in the mid 30s to near freezing for that time. Confidence was not high enough to issue today but will need to be monitored. Freeze warning criteria may be more likely south of the I-10/I-12 corridor and west of I-55 (where freezes warnings are issued every time), although with such cold temperatures the past few days, not sure if there is any extra value in issuing that.

Temperatures will remain cold and below average but will be relatively moderate compared to what we have seen the past few days.

The next system is going to be another arctic blast with troughing digging down well into the Gulf this weekend. Cold Weather Advisories look possible again this weekend, but there is still a relatively large spread of temperatures (15-20 degrees between NBM10 and NBM90 with the 10 being below freezing and 90 above). Potential for any precipitation seems relatively suppressed, but there is still some rain potential. However due to the large uncertainty of temperatures at this time, manually removed any mention of wintry precip for Friday into Saturday. Obviously this will need to be closely monitored as we get closer to the weekend.

AVIATION

(18Z TAFS) Issued at 1212 PM CST Mon Jan 26 2026

Strong northerly winds are the main impact for any terminals today with sustained winds of up to 15 knots possible with gusts up to 25-30 knots, with the higher numbers for terminals closer to water (e.g. GPT or NEW). Winds will eventually slack later tonight and any leftover ceilings should scatter so terminals should for the most part be in VFR this forecast period.

MARINE

Issued at 1136 AM CST Mon Jan 26 2026

Strong offshore winds continue for all of the marine areas with hazardous winds and waves especially for small craft. As the pressure gradient begins to loosen the winds will begin to slack tonight and then enter a much more benign and calmer wind profile through Thursday. Another round of strong offshore winds will then enter from west to east starting Friday and persist though most, if not all the weekend.

LIX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

LA...Extreme Cold Warning until noon CST Tuesday for LAZ034>037-039- 046>048-056>060-064>071-076>090.

GM...Small Craft Advisory until 6 PM CST this evening for GMZ530-532- 534-536-538-550-552-555-557-570-572-575-577.

MS...Extreme Cold Warning until noon CST Tuesday for MSZ068>071-077- 083>088.

GM...Small Craft Advisory until 6 PM CST this evening for GMZ532-534- 536-538-550-552-555-557-570-572-575-577.