okay i think we are going to get started um and i'll make a few comments and then uh take some questions and i don't know that i've done a zoom press conference with this many folks on before but we'll do the best we can uh first of all thank you all for continuing to cover this weather emergency you know this will be the coldest weather we've experienced in louisiana in several decades and uh while it can be pretty when you look at the snow it is also extremely dangerous and certainly we are seeing that and everyone needs to stay aware of the weather watch the news the weather station but also local news and listening to local elected officials because there are real real threats out there especially related to travel and so we are encouraging everyone to be patient don't get out on the roads any more than is necessary or more often than is necessary and please check 511la.org it has real-time information on road conditions and closures and ice and black ice sometimes can be hard to um for hold on just a second cable tv was just restored and my tv came uh so i apologize it's been off all day uh but uh obviously the the roads are a big concern for us with ice and black ice so 511la.org is incredibly important i can tell you the state police have worked more than 150 individual motor vehicle accidents um as of the last report i got there were a number of moderate to significant injuries but no fatalities uh from those uh which we can be thankful for uh but individuals should be careful because if they go out and get in an accident it's it's not guaranteed uh that you're gonna have a first responder show up in a timely fashion because it uh it it takes a while to maneuver through the ice and and so forth so please don't do that um sadly we are reporting our very first confirmed fatality from this accident a 50 year old gentleman in the karen crow area uh sustained a fatal head injury when he slipped on ice uh and and so obviously that's that's very tragic uh and so we're asking everyone to be very very careful you know the the cold temperatures uh being the single digits for much of north louisiana in the teens as far south as here in baton rouge and then of course with the wind the wind chills will make it feel much colder than that so there's a real danger from hypothermia so please stay inside as much as possible and and don't don't get out unless it's absolutely necessary and then we also need people to be very very careful about generator safety you all may remember that after the hurricanes this past year we had many more fatalities from carbon monoxide poisoning than we did from the hurricane itself and so generator safety is really important with the widespread power outages that we're experiencing at present there are more than 125 000 uh outages across louisiana and some areas have have outages now for over 12 hours and so if if the homes have uh electricity is the only source for heat we know that it's getting cold and so some people will be using generators if they're available uh please make sure that you operate the generator outside and well away from your home uh make sure that it's ventilated properly and not inside not under a window or a vent not in a crawl space or a garage and then be very careful when you refuel the generator as well and i will tell you the electric companies all electric companies in louisiana are asking that people can serve power tonight from basically from now until about nine o'clock tomorrow morning this doesn't apply to those individuals who are elderly or have special needs but for the rest of us please keep your temperature the thermostat down between 65 and 68 degrees put on an extra blanket if necessary and the reason is there are unprecedented levels of demand being placed on the electrical grid system and if the power generation is unable to keep up uh with the demand then rolling blackouts may occur right now we don't have any blackouts planned for louisiana that's a good thing but if we want to make sure that they don't happen we really need people to conserve power primarily by setting the generator i'm sorry the thermostat down to between 65 and 68 degrees and then wash your dishes and your your clothes and cold water and do things like that in order to conserve power so this is a very serious emergency uh and we are going to see another round of winter weather come in starting early wednesday morning and there will be more precipitation it will start in northwest louisiana and move in a southeasterly fashion uh but but whether the temperatures won't be as low but they will get back to freezing on wednesday night and for much of thursday as well so we can't tell exactly when the thaw out is going to happen and and the roads may go from a period of being unsafe to safe and then unsafe again so we need everybody uh to be mindful of that uh be very careful please know that the state police is working with all of our local partners across the state the national guard is working as well in coordination with the offices of emergency preparedness there have been generators delivered for water systems and the like across the state as requested to deal with some of these power outages uh so this remains a very serious uh situation and we're asking people to be patient and we know that tomorrow is a holiday it is mardi gras and so many businesses and and all the schools were scheduled to be closed anyway um so we're asking people to stay home stay off the road uh don't go out unless it's absolutely necessary and if you do again check 511la.org for road closures any down lines should be treated as if they're live so please don't take it upon yourself to clear one off the roadway or to move a a tree or a limb that may be leaning against the wire that's that's extremely dangerous as well so there are a lot of hazards out there that can get people not just the weather although the weather is going to be cold enough that it'll present problems on its own but but everybody should be very safety conscious and i'm going to ask folks to check in on their neighbors especially if they're elderly check in on your relatives make sure that they're warm enough and do what you can to help them especially if you live in an area where you are experiencing power outages uh right now uh let's be a good neighbor and then uh as it has for almost a year now the cobit pandemic is is still with us and it complicates all of our efforts uh to address emergencies including this one so please wear make sure you wear a mask and stay distance as best you can when you check on your neighbors so that you don't accidentally bring them the virus or have them give it to you so with that i'm going to pause now and we'll see whether we can take some questions from you all for a few minutes uh before i have to get on the the weather channel to do another update governor this is greg how are you greg i'm doing fine thank you very much there have been some local stay-at-home orders issued have you in curfews have you considered that statewide no i haven't done it statewide clearly that's that's something that local government can do and is doing um we we have some parts of the state down in the extreme southeast uh that that really wouldn't need to do a stay-at-home order because of the weather and so i really think it's something that that locals should do uh in accordance with with whatever conditions they happen to be experiencing especially if it's accompanied by widespread power outages that may be affecting uh signals uh for for roads and that sort of thing but it's not something that i'm considering doing at present for the state governor sam carlin you mentioned the possibility of rolling blackouts do you have any idea how likely that is and how entergy and other power companies will decide where to do that and can you also talk about maybe a time frame for restoring power in like baton rouge given the icy roads well actually it's a process that that is administered not by individual companies but on a regional basis and you may have as many as 10 to 12 states um that that are operating together uh and then it's a function of whether you you have demand that that exceeds the ability to generate power and then in order to not have catastrophic failure or have long-term outages uh they will they will go through what they call rolling blackouts where they're they'll just do it for a couple of hours at a time the good news is there are none scheduled uh for tonight and it won't be necessary we don't think if people will conserve power uh but the the most likely uh course that would lead to these rolling blackouts would be if not enough people uh heed that advice um and and don't set the thermostats lower and don't conserve energy so that that's that's the good news is none are scheduled we hope we can get by without them uh and and you know tomorrow at least in south louisiana uh after the sun is gonna be out that should be helpful uh and then after lunch we're gonna have a number of hours above freezing and so things tomorrow night won't be as cold as they are tonight and and hopefully we're going to get some more roads in passable condition and further we know that as the roads get better of the uh line crews for these energy companies uh not just entergy but all of the companies they're going to be able to get out and start restoring power they're already working on that now but we think that tomorrow they will they will have a better shot at getting more of the power restored so so it's a great question sam none are planned right now we hope that they don't have to occur which is why i'm relaying this information uh from our electric companies to to people across the state and hopefully you all can amplify that message as well any other questions out there governor ian ozan with capel radio and lafayette you mentioned the upcoming event later this week is the state taking or making any preparations for that upcoming winter event yeah well we are and and in terms of just making sure we're coordinating with our emergency uh operations offices across the state at the parish levels uh i did have a call tonight with the white house uh to make sure that that if there was something that they could do uh that that we were able to talk to them and really talk to them about the rolling power outages and how that that could be problematic and of course again we are largely in control as to whether that has to happen but we continue to work with the red cross which is coordinating directly with parishes if they need blankets and and of course we're encouraging parishes as necessary to set up warming centers for individuals who who may need an opportunity to get warm and so that's why it's very important that people stay in contact with their local uh officials so that they know where these opportunities are and when they're going to be open uh should they be needed um and and then you know by all uh appearances by friday this winter weather event uh will be over and this is not something we're accustomed to um and tonight will be the coldest temperatures but we will have more snow and sleet and freezing rain that moves through the area starting on wednesday and it will go back and forth between temperatures that are below and above freezing and so the the conditions are going to get better and worse several times over the rest of the week which is why we need people to be very very cautious and that's why we continue to work with all of our local government partners and all state agencies by that way by the way for the rest of the week to make sure that we are prepared for the second event that is going to occur later this week hey governor jeff palermo louisiana radio network with the uh another round of winter weather coming for some of those roads uh bridges overpasses ramps that are closed in north louisiana i mean is it possible they may be shut down the entire week here until we get to that warmer weather on friday what what is dotd and state police told you about that well we don't know we hope that there will be enough sunlight tomorrow uh and an increasing temperatures to to make those roads safe again uh they are putting out several million pounds of salt and brine solution to try to make these roads and bridges and off-ramps safe but then you know what we can't know is the degree to which the precipitation is going to come starting again on wednesday you know it shouldn't be quite as significant as it was over the previous 24 hours uh but you can't know that for sure uh and and it is going to fall during a time when it's going to be freezing temperatures so we don't think that the second event is going to be as serious as this one based on the current forecast but really until we get there we just don't know and it is certainly possible in north louisiana that you're going to have certain stretches of road that are going to remain unsafe for several days running and that's why people should go to 511la.org before they travel only travel if it's absolutely necessary uh and as you as i mentioned schools and and uh state offices and and local government offices will be closed tomorrow under any circumstances because of mardi gras we'll be making an announcement tomorrow afternoon right after our one o'clock unified command group meeting as to what those closures will look like on wednesday and there will probably be some additional closures maybe not statewide but certainly as you look at central and north louisiana based on the forecast that we have before us today there will likely be some additional closures and if so we'll be making those announcements tomorrow afternoon anything else well i do want to thank all of you again your role is indispensable here uh to get information to folks and if they have power outages they're going to be listening to the radio they're going to be watching online they're going to be doing all sorts of things to get this information so please make sure that you put it out so that people can stay safe again we've had one confirmed fatality because of this winter storm we certainly don't want any more and key to that will be the information you put out and then people being safety conscious out there especially as it relates to carbon monoxide poisoning a colorless uh odorless gas uh that that killed more people after the hurricane than the hurricane itself that has the potential to happen again um tonight so please be careful out there let's let's be good neighbors to one another please check on your neighbors if they are elderly or if they're in firm and let's do what we can to keep people warm especially tonight the temperatures will be cold later in the week but not as cold as tonight so so thank you all uh god bless we'll let you know whether whether we're going to do this again tomorrow afternoon or not but thank you all