Schools now closed for Friday; winter weather advisory issued

The cold wintery weather forecast in Louisiana for Friday morning has forced schools to CLOSE on Friday. Avoyelles Parish Superintendent Blaine Dauzat made the announcement just after 6 p.m. Thursday. He made the decision due to the increasing chance of frozen precipitation during the overnight hours.

"The safety of our students and employees come first," Dauzat said.

The National Weather Service in Lake Charles has issued a winter weather advisory for parts of central and south central Louisiana late tonight into Friday morning. A freeze warning is in effect late tonight into Friday morning for east Texas and central Louisiana.

A rain/sleet mix will turn into a rain/snow mix later tonight in east Texas and central Louisiana, shifting south towards the I-10 corridor of southeast Texas and southwest and south central Louisiana. Snow accumulations will be less than one inch, mainly in central and south central Louisiana.

The frozen precipitation will be ending from north to south Friday morning. Temperatures will be at or below freezing in parts of east Texas and central Louisiana for a few hours in the morning, so wet bridges could be icy and hazardous for a few hours. Temperatures will remain above freezing along the I-10 corridor of southeast Texas and southwest and south central Louisiana, so no significant icy roads or bridges are expected in this region.

No precipitation is forecast this weekend into next week.

Morning low temperatures will be at or below freezing Saturday, as far south as the I-10 corridor.

Freezing temperatures will occur again Sunday and Monday morning, mainly in east Texas and central Louisiana.

Temperatures will slowly warm up next week, with highs in the 60s Monday through Thursday.