Louisiana Winter Forecast 2026–27: Snow, Cold & First Snow

NOAA's Climate Prediction Center outlook (issued August 20, 2026) puts Louisiana at equal chances (no lean) for temperature and wetter than normal for precipitation over December–February, with El Niño driving the pattern, read off CPC's official map at the state's three reference cities. CPC draws its probability bands by region rather than issuing a call for each state, so where a state's cities straddle two bands we show equal chances — the official maps are at cpc.ncep.noaa.gov. This is a rain, not snow, outlook for your area — measurable snow is rare enough here that a seasonal tilt says little about it. Seasonal outlooks never forecast snowfall totals, and New Orleans's 1991–2020 normal of 0 in remains the best single planning number.

New Orleans does not have a meaningful first-snow date — measurable snow is rare enough that most winters record none. What snow Louisiana does get falls in Northwest parishes — Shreveport averages ~1 in.

January is the coldest month in New Orleans, with a normal January high of 63°F and low of 46°F. The all-time state record low is -16°F at Minden in 1899.

New Orleans averages 0 in of snow per season (NOAA 1991–2020 normals), with no month averaging measurable snow. Statewide totals vary enormously: New Orleans ~0 in, Baton Rouge ~0 in, Shreveport ~1 in. The heaviest totals fall in Louisiana's snow belt (Northwest parishes): Shreveport averages ~1 in.

The Farmers' Almanac and Old Farmer's Almanac publish winter forecasts from undisclosed formulas and have never shown skill beyond chance in independent checks. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center publishes probabilities with stated skill and updates monthly. Even NOAA's outlook is only a tilt, so the ranking is: NOAA's tilt first, Louisiana's 30-year normals second, and the almanacs for entertainment.

El Niño conditions are present and strengthening. In its August 13, 2026 ENSO Diagnostic Discussion, CPC gave a greater than 90% chance of a very strong event during fall and winter 2026–27, and a 69% chance that the October–December season sets a record (+2.5°C or more, 3-month RONI) for any El Niño since 1950. CPC is explicit that impacts consistent with El Niño become more likely with an event this large, but are not guaranteed. For Louisiana, CPC's map puts that at equal chances (no lean) for temperature and wetter than normal for precipitation — taken from CPC's official Dec–Feb probability map at each state's three reference cities, since CPC publishes probabilities by region rather than a call per state. The Southeast carries the strongest precipitation signal in the entire outlook: above-normal probabilities exceed 60% in places, with the wet tilt running up nearly the whole East Coast. Temperature leans milder across most of the region too — Virginia and the Carolinas through Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas and the Tennessee Valley — while Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana read as equal chances. Mild and wet is not a snow recipe, but it is an ice recipe every time a shallow cold shot arrives, which is the Carolina piedmont, north Georgia and the Tennessee Valley story. Kentucky and Tennessee read as equal chances on precipitation.

Louisiana rates 2 of 5 (occasional) on our freezing-rain scale. Louisiana gets occasional freezing rain or drizzle, typically when mild Pacific or Gulf air overruns a shallow cold layer. Damaging ice storms are rare but memorable.

Anchor it to the first frost: Louisiana's typical first frost is November 26, and a hard freeze (28°F) usually follows within about two weeks — around December 10. Blow out sprinklers and disconnect hoses before the hard freeze, service the furnace by then, and have winter tires on before the first cold snap.