Quirky Videos Capture Icy Road Conditions In Lafayette

(KMDL-FM) If it's one thing that the Internet has taught us, it's this. People like to know what's going on. Sometimes the information provided by websites and social media includes information that could save lives. Sometimes the information presented just provides clarity. And sometimes, like during the recent winter weather event in Louisiana, the combination of "I need to know" and "Dat don't make no sense" comes together in front of thousands of eyeballs.

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This past weekend, actually, Mother Nature was throwing one of her Arctic hissy fits, and the good people of Louisiana were included. This weekend, we are thriving in the cold without snow, ice, sleet, freezing rain, and storm chasers. No, we weren't threatened enough to get Jim Cantore, so we got TEMU Cantore.

How Cold Will It Be in Louisiana This Weekend

This weekend, it's just cold. Oh, and the wind is blowing. How cold will it be where you live? The National Weather Service Forecast Office in Lake Charles provided this graphic, which should help you answer that question.

If you're not in South Louisiana, you can find the weather forecast and temperature outlook for Shreveport and Monroe, as well as the temperature and forecast for Baton Rouge and New Orleans. No matter how you slice it, it's cold, but it's not slick, which was the concern last weekend and the beginning of the work week.

North Louisiana Still Recovering From Winter Storm As Cold Weather Returns

North Louisiana took the brunt of last weekend's ice storm and winter weather. Many communities are still struggling with power service and some basic necessities. Our hearts go out to them. And there are ways you can support those in need, and I hope you will.

Meanwhile, in South Louisiana, the I-10 corridor, the threat of frozen roads and icy bridges wasn't quite as strong. It was strong enough that people were hungry for accurate information about road conditions and what they might face when the sun came up, and it was time to go to work.

That's when these quirky videos started surfacing on social media pages around the state. The concept was simple: let's show the people what's really happening on the roads in Acadiana. All we needed was a road, a puddle, and some winter temperatures.

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That wraps up the entire concept of the videos that garnered more than 50,000 views on Facebook. If you missed them, we're bringing them back in chronological order so you can see not only the progression of the ice, snow, and cold weather as it moved into the area between 2 am and 8 am this past Monday, but you can relive the slightly addled and perhaps hypothermia-induced commentary.

Here is the first video, produced and shot in Lafayette, Louisiana, on Monday, January 26th. Remember, it's two o'clock in the morning.

As you can see in the video, the question of whether the roadways were safe would have been answered "yes". Most of the surface streets built on solid ground did not have an issue with ice at that time. As you can see by the number of views, a lot of people were up late, hoping to get a glimpse of what later in the morning would bring.

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As time passed during the morning hours, our crew, okay, it was one mentally unstable guy, went out into the parking lot again to chronicle the ever-changing road conditions as demonstrated by the large puddle in the parking lot.

That video was produced during the 4 am hour of Monday, January 26, 2026. And for people who have to be at work early, it was a good indicator of how the roadways would be after sitting in the Arctic chill for most of the night.

Acadiana Roads Begin To Show Signs of Icing - How Bad Did It Get?

As you can see in the video, things were "so far, so good".  Then came the 6 am update, and that's when things started to get interesting in the parking lot, and unfortunately on the roadways in the northern sections of the part of Louisiana we call Acadiana.

Many of you commented on the bird sanctuary that our radio station sponsors next to our building. We don't have funding from the Department of Wildlife to officially keep the birds there, but the fact that we have more security lights aimed at them than most major airports have is bound to be the reason why they thrive next to us.

You could also see in that video the first signs of ice forming on ground-based roadways, which was actually a significant development, but did the cold arrive too late to really disrupt roads in Acadiana? Yeah, it probably did. And to quote Ella Langley, If it Weren't For the Wind, we might have had bigger problems, but you can see in the 8 am update. The wind took care of the problem.

There you have it, this is what people really need from the Internet. Not only did we tell you what was going on, but we showed you what was going on. Yes, totally stupid, totally bat-poop, or in this case, bird-poop crazy. But we hope you enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look at what happens when a disc jockey is sequestered alone in a building in the middle of the night with only his wits, a package of instant ramen, and a camera.

Thank you for watching, and to quote Larry the Cable Guy, "Lord, I apologize".