NEW ORLEANS -- Southwest Louisiana gets its earliest snowfall ever. The National Weather Service says a winter storm dumped 4 inches of snow northeast of Brookhaven, Miss., and up to 3 inches from Smithdale, Miss., to Fort Polk, La., and on into Texas.
Families scraped together enough snow for snowmen in otherwise brown front yards. Melted snow froze overnight on some southwest Louisiana bridges and overpasses, as temperatures plunged into the mid-20s.
By midmorning Saturday, temperatures were back up above freezing.
National Weather Service meteorologists say Eunice, La., also got three inches of snow, and several cities and towns got two inches.
Meteorologists say Louisiana's previous record date was Dec. 11, 2008, while Mississippi's was Nov. 24, 1938.
