New Orleans metro needs another day to thaw out after a once-in-a-lifetime snowstorm blanketed the area in 10 inches of snow. Why it matters: State and local leaders are asking residents to stay off the roads Thursday while they're being cleared.

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - As the sun rises over New Orleans on Wednesday morning, the Crescent City is slowly thawing after a rare and historic winter storm. Residents and visitors are digging out from record-breaking snow, which blanketed rooftops, cars, and the city’s iconic oak trees, leaving picturesque scenes throughout the area.

A record-breaking snowstorm in the southern U.S. dumped as much as 8 inches of snow on New Orleans and nearly a foot of snow in Alabama

Many roadways were impassable, classes were canceled in local schools and many businesses could not open as a winter storm essentially brought New Orleans to a standstill.

New Orleans has received nearly twice the snowfall as Anchorage this winter — underscoring Southcentral Alaska’s meager snow season as much as the rare winter storm that pummelled that subtropical Louisiana city this week.

The Big Easy got a big helping of snow on Tuesday. Former president George W. Bush took the internet by storm during the 2025 Inauguration of President Donald Trump, where the 43rd president seemed to have a playful moment during the proceedings.

New Orleans’ has received more snowfall since the start of meteorological winter than many cold weather cities across the county including Philadelphia, New York and Anchorage, Alaska.