Storms, possible twisters threaten Mardi Gras, southern US

Powerful storms with a threat of tornadoes are expected to punch through Louisiana and other parts of the South on Tuesday just as costumed revelers celebrate Mardi Gras with huge parades and partying in the streets of New Orleans and other cities in the region.

New Orleans moved up its two biggest Mardi Gras Day parades and cut down their routes to try to avoid the potentially destructive weather. Police are also expected to keep the hundreds of participants and dozens of floats moving quickly so they finish before winds are expected to pick up, according to New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick.

Mardi Gras floats “could become unstable” and heavy winds could “blow down trees and power lines,” the National Weather Service warned, adding gusts of up to 60 mph are expected Tuesday afternoon.

In New Orleans, Kirkpatrick ordered parade-goers to not bring umbrellas, tents or “anything that could fly in the wind and cause mayhem.” She warned that she may need to cancel the parades at the last minute if the weather gets worse.

Multiple weather threats loom this week for the U.S., starting with dust storms that brought near-zero visibility to parts of New Mexico and west Texas, prompting the National Weather Service to issue Dust Storm Warnings. “Widespread blowing dust,” was expected Tuesday, said the weather service office covering Midland and Odessa, Texas.

The week’s strong weather system will bring “a threat of blizzard conditions, high winds, flash flooding, severe weather, dust storms, and critical to extreme fire weather conditions to the nation’s heartland,” according to a weather service update Monday.

On Tuesday, twisters, damaging winds and large hail are all possible as a strong storm system moves across the nation’s midsection into Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, the federal Storm Prediction Center warns.

The bullseye for a heightened risk of severe weather is an area stretching from east Texas to Alabama that’s home to more than 7 million people. Cities under threat include Baton Rouge and Shreveport in Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; and Mobile, Alabama.



(Photo Chris Granger/New Orleans Times-Picayune via AP)