Bogalusa Director of Public Works James Hall said city government officials did ultimately have to close City Hall, after the area got “much more” snow than they expected.

Hall met with Washington Parish President Richard Thomas and the National Weather Service out of Slidell on Thursday afternoon, and the city had originally planned to keep City Hall open the following day. But when the snow came down heavier than anticipated, the call was made for city employees not to travel in for work.

“Driving conditions are bad out there,” Hall said, Friday afternoon. “We need to tell people if they have an emergency, they need to call 732-6213. An emergency crew will be ready to respond.”

Meanwhile, Washington Parish Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Tommy Thiebaud wanted to alert residents that it could get even colder Friday night, and that driving conditions could be rough Saturday morning as the roads re-freeze.

“In the morning, if anybody doesn’t have to go out, don’t,” Thiebaud said.

On Friday, Washington Parish President Richard “Ned” Thomas posted a statement on Facebook about the weather.

The statement read:

“Washington Parish is in a Winter Storm Warning. If it is not necessary to be on the roads please stay home; this type of weather is dangerous and is not something that most of us are skilled in driving. The roads and bridges are beginning to accumulate snow. The weight of the snow has limbs and trees falling, electrical lines are being compromised from the weather also. WPG Road Crews are stationed throughout the parish to distribute sand on the bridges as needed. My Office and the Office of Emergency Preparedness are monitoring the weather and posting updates to Facebook as needed…Please be safe and report any problems you may have to our office.”

According to the National Weather Service in New Orleans, snow accumulations of up to 2 inches were seen in some portions of Washington Parish.