Curfew rescinded, parish schools closed Thursday, LSU Eunice open

Warming into the upper 30s this afternoon will allow ice to thaw on many streets and roads, but officials caution it will take longer than many drivers expect in some areas.
And temperatures below freezing early tonight and in the low to middle 20s overnight will cause re-freezing in many places where roadways remain wet.
But the quick-drying occurring over the area did cause parish and city officials to rescind the curfew previously scheduled for tonight in Eunice and in Opelousas. It remains in effect, beginning at 6 p.m., for the eastern portion of St. Landry Parish, extending until 6 a.m. Thursday.
Because there are remaining icing concerns in the eastern portion in particular, St. Landry Parish schools will remain closed Thursday, contrary to earlier expectations that classes would resume.
At LSU Eunice, classes will resume their normal scheduled on Thursday.
Authorities noted that though Winter Storm Leon has gone, the iced roads it left behind are extraordinarily dangerous to travel and will be long after the thaw begins.
Many roads and highways, or part of them, remain closed around the parish, area and South Louisiana.
Forecasters expect the mercury to eventually soar this afternoon to a high of about 40 (the average low for this date is 40 and the average high is 62). The temperature was at or near 20 degrees over most of the area shortly after sunrise today. The official high Tuesday was 36, reached in the pre-dawn hours, before the hard cold got here. The low was 25. The wind was ferocious, leaving wind chills in the low teens at times.
As the parish-wide curfew expired at 6 a.m., some vehicles started testing the roads, cautiously creeping, drivers hoping to get to their destinations without encountering the dreaded slides. Some did, some didn't, winding up stalled in the middle of roads, unable to gain traction, or nose or butt first in the many open ditches across the area.
Schools remain closed, and children, cooped in all day Tuesday, could be seen popping up here and there in the 4.4 inches of snow that Leon dusted the area with. The snow and ice is the second wintry mix the area has received in a week's time, after making it four winters with no snow.
Many businesses closed Tuesday expected reopened, though that is hit or miss depending on who can get to work. Though the thaw will begin, icing will remain a problem the rest of the day, tonight and early Thursday on curves, bridges, shade-shrouded patches and other highway surfaces.
The warmup continues Thursday, with a high near 55 and the Thursday night low at a near-normal 43. Friday and Saturday will see highs close to or exceeding 70 degrees.