As Locals Freak Out, Transplanted Wyomingite In The South Loves The Record Snow

When Wyomingites want to escape the worst of winter, they head to all parts south. Imagine their surprise when a typical Wyoming winter drops in for a slice of Southern hospitality.

The sunny South is digging out from an unprecedented snowstorm Tuesday and Wednesday. Areas around New Orleans got more than a foot of snow, while Pensacola, Florida, broke a 130-year-old record with 5 inches.

Thousands of homes and businesses in Alabama, Florida and Louisiana lost power during the storm, while snow was cleared from streets and bridges with construction equipment because they don’t have snowplows. Local governments and state leaders are panicking as they try to keep people safe — but many of those people are too busy enjoying themselves outdoors.

For those transplanted Wyomingites, it’s déjà vu all over again.

Paul Knapp lived near Pinedale, Wyoming, before moving to Gonzales, Louisiana, between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, to savor the sunny south. He wasn’t close enough to join the spontaneous snowball fights that broke out on New Orleans’s Bourbon Street, but he’s having the time of his life.

“We're all fine down here,” he told Cowboy State Daily. "We had fair warnings, and people got prepared. I’ve had a fire going for the last two and a half days, and I'm enjoying it." 

Not Built For This

Knapp was enjoying the difference between the stories he’s seen in the media and the reality he’s living near Baton Rouge. A freak snowstorm is a serious situation in the South, but it's all too familiar for a winter-worn Wyomingite.

“It was 8 degrees on Tuesday morning,” he said. “Living in Wyoming, you learn how to deal with it, but the people and places down here aren’t built for that. They're built for 98 degrees and 98% humidity.”

Louisiana survived its first blizzard warning in the state’s history. The National Weather Service called it “a once-in-a-generation weather event.”

With experience dealing with minus 35 temperatures in Wyoming, Knapp has become the “snowman” of his neighborhood. He’s been helping people paralyzed by the freezing temperatures and record-breaking inches of snowfall by sharing information most everyone in the Cowboy State intrinsically knows.

“We've had hard freezes before, and most people know how to deal with that, but nothing major,” he said. “I talked to a bunch of friends on how to prep their houses, leave their faucets running, and all that. “

Still, Knapp admitted he’s a bit rustier than he expected with his winter weather preparedness after waking up to find some of his pipes had frozen overnight.

“I fell asleep last night and didn't have one of my faucets running,” he said. “I’ve been telling everyone they need to do that, and I wasn’t smart enough to do it myself.”

Good Lord’s Snow Removal

It takes more than a blizzard to close Wyoming’s highways, but once the snow reached the South, everything shut down. Interstate 10, one of the major east-west highways running across the southern U.S., has been closed since the snow started.

“That’ll leave a large financial impact,” Knapp said. “That hurts interstate commerce and all the small businesses. They’ve been shut down yesterday and today, and it’ll probably be tomorrow before the roads open up again.”

Louisiana is getting a helping hand from Arkansas, which sent some of its plow trucks to help clear snow from the roads in the northern half of the state. Other areas have been using what’s available to them in whatever capacity they can.

“I saw some pictures of somebody with a backhoe bucket trying to clear the snow off a bridge in New Orleans,” Knapp said. “We have a lot of bayous and canals out here, and we’re only 17 feet above sea level. Nobody’s driving on the roads until they’re clear.”

Ultimately, there’s only one thing Southerners can count on as they wait for their way of life to resume.

“They're waiting for the Good Lord to clear the roads,” Knapp said.

Get It While It’s Good

Knapp hasn’t been bothered by the suddenly snowy South. Once it was clear he had nowhere to go and nothing to do, he hopped in his golf cart and took a tour of the town.

“I cruised through the neighborhood,” he said. “All the kids were playing in the snow, spent time chatting with my neighbors, and saw plenty of people taking pictures. Everyone’s enjoying it.”

The forecast for the rest of the week in the southern U.S. has higher temperatures and plenty of rain. That’ll be enough to clear the roads and unfreeze the region, so Knapp and many others are making the most of it while it lasts.

“It’s like a free holiday,” he said. “You don't have a lot of holidays between New Year’s and Memorial Day, so this is a free holiday for everybody. I got to burn up all my old firewood and have been having a great time.”

Many people would prefer three days of winter in Louisiana over several months of it in Wyoming. For Knapp, it’s been a savory slice of Wyoming hospitality.

“I think we’re blessed,” he said. “Everything looks pretty, and it’ll be gone in a few days. It’s unusual down here, so we might as well enjoy it.”

And at least one industry has been doing well since the snowfall.

“Plumbers are running all over the place with those big gold Cuban chains on,” he said. “They love this stuff.”

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.