The cold arctic air mass began moving into the region Sunday morning with temperatures falling into the 30s along with 30-plus wind gusts.

National Weather Service Lake Charles Meteorologist Donald Jones said temperatures will climb into the 40s Sunday afternoon before falling quickly Sunday night into the 20s with wind chill values in the teens.

“A similar temperature scenario is expected again Monday,” Jones said. “Probabilities for a potentially historic — relatively speaking — snowfall event across the region Tuesday continue to increase with swaths of the area expected to see between 2-6 inches of accumulation.”

Jones said some forecast models depict accumulation totals even higher.

There remains a comparably low (about 20%) chance of freezing rain accumulation generally along and south of the I-10 corridor Tuesday, he said.

“Something to keep in mind is that with wind gusts of 30-plus mph and expected ongoing snow, parts of the area may approach blizzard warning criteria,” Jones said.

He said 35-plus mph wind gusts and 1/4 mile visibility from heavy snow constitute a blizzard warning.

“While it is unlikely we will actually reach this criteria, expected conditions are close enough to make it worth mentioning,” Jones said. “Also be aware that with temperatures expected to remain at or below freezing from early Tuesday evening until at least Thursday afternoon, any snow or ice that accumulates will not begin to melt until at least Thursday afternoon and shaded areas with significant accumulation may continue to see ice or snow through as late as Saturday.”