Back

Historic Snow Storm Causes Winter Outages -- 12.15.2008

A polar express blasted across Louisiana on December 1l that collided with warm, moist air off the Gulf of Mexico caused temperatures to plunge over 30 degrees and blanketed the southeastern part of the Bayou State with up to eight inches of snow, causing power outages for DEMCO in the process.

Winter storms battered much of the nation during December, dumping snow in Seattle and creating nightmarish conditions for travelers as wind chills dipped to minus 30-below in Wisconsin and Michigan. Blizzards knocked out power for several days to 70,000 customers in Indiana and 35,000 in Iowa and Illinois. Snowbound roads and power outages also affected residents from the Great Lakes to Boston. 

The National Weather Service reported record snowfall across DEMCO’s seven-parish service area with eight inches of snow in Amite, 5.5 inches of snow in Zachary and Livingston, four inches in Greensberg and over three inches in Baton Rouge.

Baton Rouge last saw 3.5 inches of snow on Jan. 23, 1940. This year’s December snow was the earliest measurable snowfall ever recorded.

While children and families built snowmen and students enjoyed a rare “snow day” in south Louisiana, utility workers were kept busy trying to restore power to over 108,000 households and businesses in the eight parishes most affected by the storm.

DEMCO reported about 32,000 members without power at the peak of the storm the morning of Dec. 11 after heavy, wet snowflakes piled up on tree limbs and caused them to droop into power lines. High winds whipping limbs made the situation even  worse, and as the snow melted, tree limbs rebounded, causing additional outages.

David Latona, DEMCO’s Manager of Member and Public Relations, reported that by late Thursday afternoon (Dec. 11), DEMCO had restored power to all but 4,300 of its members in the Baton Rouge area. He explained that due to the extent of the outages and the frigid conditions the storm presented a multitude of challenges. 
 “This was pretty much the worst winter storm we’ve experienced across south Louisiana in several decades,” Latona explained, adding “we had every DEMCO crew member at work and called in additional help from other Co-ops both within Louisiana and outside the state, as well as hiring local contractors.”

Even with all the extra manpower and equipment, some utility customers were without power overnight. Snowy and icy roads were also a factor.

“There hasn’t been a snowfall of this size in Louisiana since 1988,” Latona said, noting even the National Weather Service predicted most of snow would fall north of Baton Rouge and what did fall wasn’t expected to last long on the ground or on trees. 

Back to Top