Snow day in St. Mary

Snow made a rare appearance in St. Mary Parish on Friday morning, when schools were closed and several bridges were blocked off, too. Officials estimated that over 1 inch of snow fell Friday in the Morgan City area.

Sheriff’s office deputies were reporting wave of heavy snow across the parish around 8 a.m. Friday.

As of about 8:30 a.m. Friday, officials expected the Tri-City area to have over 1 inch of snow Friday, said Duval Arthur, parish director of emergency preparedness and homeland security.

There wasn’t much snow accumulation.

All public schools in St. Mary Parish were closed Friday on advice from Homeland Security. Central Catholic High and Holy Cross Elementary were also closed. Stephensville Elementary was closed, too.

The U.S. 90 bridge in Morgan City was closed Friday morning while officials sanded the bridge to remove ice that fell on the bridge. Traffic was diverted to the La. 182 bridge in Morgan City, which later closed due to an 18-wheeler striking the bridge, police said.

St. Mary received sleet almost all of Thursday night and into early Friday, Arthur said.

Ice didn’t accumulate on streets in the parish because the temperatures of the roads were several degrees above freezing, Arthur said.

“On top of the bridge, it’s different. It’s like a refrigerator,” Arthur said. “You’ve got wind blowing from the top and the bottom. It really chills that concrete to the point where it’ll freeze stuff.”

St. Mary Parish is unusual in that there are 11 high-rise bridges, more than most parishes in Louisiana, he said.

In Amelia, the U.S. 90 and La. 182 bridges were closed Friday morning due to ice on those bridges.

The U.S. 90 overpasses at La. 317 and at the La. 3215 Garden City junction were closed, too. Deputies rerouted traffic to La. 182.

U.S. 90 in Amelia at Duhon Boulevard was also closed. La. 182 stayed open almost all across the parish Friday.

Sheriff’s office deputies responded to multiple vehicle crashes across St. Mary Parish as ice accumulated on the roadways.

The National Weather Service forecast shows the low temperature should get to 31 degrees Friday night with a 20 percent chance of precipitation. Saturday is supposed to be sunny with a high of 53 degrees and low of 36 degrees.

Sunday should also be sunny with a high of 53 degrees and a low of 38 degrees Sunday night.

Sugar cane farmer Mike Accardo of Patterson said Friday morning that it was unclear how the cold weather mixed with sleet and snow may accept the sugarcane harvest.

“We’re going to have to wait and see how cold it gets,” Accardo said. As of about 8:30 a.m. Friday, the temperatures were around 32 to 33 degrees.

If the parish gets a freeze and then a substantial increase in the temperatures, the sugarcane could sour, Accardo said.

“But really I don’t think it’s cold enough now to really hurt it bad. It’s going to be extra messy (though)” Accardo said Friday morning.

Accardo doesn’t expect the cold weather to affect the cane that farmers recently planted. Accardo was more concerned about the effects that weather could have on the crop farmers are currently harvesting.

The harvest is about at its midway point and will probably continue into mid-January, he said.