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Rare snow falls in south Louisiana, Miss., Alabama
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-12 10:36

Flood watches were issued through Thursday night for much of North Carolina ahead of the storm system. Colder air behind the front could produce snow late Thursday and early Friday in the mountains.

People prepare to board a streetcar on St. Charles Avenue during snowstorm in New Orleans, Louisiana December 11, 2008. [Agencies]

In Louisiana, roughly 10,000 power outages were reported by Cleco Corp., one of the state's largest power providers. The company said it expected most of the outages to be restored by nightfall.

Some morning flights at Louis Armstrong International Airport outside New Orleans were delayed and canceled, but airport spokeswoman Michelle Wilcut said the facility was in "back-to-normal mode" by early Thursday afternoon.

In southeast Louisiana, temperatures were above freezing so accumulations were not expected to linger much beyond Thursday.

The wintry weather is rare in south Louisiana, though the state's northern parishes see it about once a year. New Orleans' last snowfall, in 2004, was a dusting that came nine months before Hurricane Katrina struck. The record snowfall for the city is about 5 inches, recorded Dec. 30, 1963.

The weather service said the previous earliest date for measurable snowfall in New Orleans was Dec. 22, 1989.