From Orange County Office of Emergency Management

A winter weather advisory will be in effect for our entire region of  southeast Texas, southwest, south central and central Louisiana.

Up to an inch of snow will possible mainly north of the Highway 190 corridor.  While lighter accumulations of snow and ice are expected further south, bridges, overpasses and elevated roads areawide could become icy later today and early tonight.

The precipitation should end by early this evening.  However, with the onset of temperatures well below freezing forecasted,  the potential exists for black ice especially along bridges and overpasses.

Also, a wind chill advisory and a hard freeze warning will be in effect for tonight.  Wind chill readings across central and south central Louisiana are forecasted to drop into the single digits. Further west. the lowest readings will range from 10 to 15.  Actual low temperatures are forecasted to fall into the teens north of the I10 corridor…and into lower 20s further south.

Don’t forget to protect your outdoor animals, pipes and plants!  If you are using a space heater to warm your home, keep it at least 3 feet from any furniture or other things that could catch fire from the heat. Do not leave a space heater turned on when you leave the room.

Please keep these safety tips in mind when traveling throughout today:

• SLOW DOWN
• Reduce your speed
• Leave more than one full car length between you and the vehicle in front of you.
• Do not use Cruise control on wet or icy roadways
• Brake application can trigger slides resulting in loss of control.

Orange County Office of Emergency Management will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as necessary