Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras, Expect bulky, multi-layered Carnival costumes accompanied by rain gear to be de rigueur on Mardi Gras 2014, thanks to a cold and wet forecast for New Orleans, Baton Rouge and the north shore.

The chilliest temperatures will be in Baton Rouge and areas north of St. Tammany Parish, where the National Weather Service has posted a freeze warning from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. Tuesday, with temperatures of 29 to 32 degrees expected to last 2 to 6 hours.

Forecasters warned that the below-freezing temperatures raises a slight chance for a mix of light sleet and light freezing rain in Pointe Coupee, East and West Feliciana, northernmost Tangipahoa and Washington parishes, including the towns of St. Francisville, Bogalusa, Amite and Franklinton.

There’s little chance of accumulation, but bridges, overpasses and elevated roadways may be cold enough to allow precipitation to freeze for a few hours before sunrise. Temperatures should warm enough by 10 a.m. to halt the fall of freezing precipitation for the rest of the day.

“Mardi Gras” “Mardi Gras season”, “‘Fat Tuesday'” and “Carnival season”, in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after the Epiphany or Kings day and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday. The day is sometimes referred to as Shrove Tuesday, from the word shrive, meaning “confess.” Related popular practices are associated with celebrations before the fasting and religious obligations associated with the penitential season of Lent.