Mardi Gras festivities are underway in New Orleans early Tuesday morning despite a forecast of severe weather expected later in the day. 

The city’s iconic Fat Tuesday parades are adapting to the impending storms, with the Zulu and Rex krewes shortening their routes and starting earlier than usual, at 6:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. respectively, according to the New Orleans Police Department.

Officials have banned floats and marching bands due to concerns about strong winds.

All parades are supposed to be off the street by 11:30 a.m.

Police are warning that they may cancel the parades if conditions warrant.

The National Weather Service has issued a High Wind Watch for the entire southern coast of Louisiana.

Forecasters said they expect winds between 30 and 40 mph starting on Tuesday morning, with gusts of up to 60 mph possible.

New Orleans is also within a Level 3 out of 5 severe weather threat, which includes risks of damaging winds, hail, and even tornadoes.

The New Orleans Police Department said on Monday afternoon that if wind gusts are higher than forecast and create unsafe conditions, Mardi Gras parades will be canceled. 

Mardi Gras festivities are underway in New Orleans early Tuesday morning despite a forecast of severe weather expected later in the day.  WireImage

Meanwhile, officials in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, announced Monday that Mardi Gras celebrations on Tuesday have been canceled due to a high wind threat.

“The timing of these winds also did not allow us to consider moving to an earlier parade time, as we were told that the winds are expected early in the morning as well,” Sheng said. “So, let me state the obvious. These are not conditions where we would invite family, including the elderly and children, to stand on our streets, out in the open. These are not conditions for people to be elevated on floats. God forbid having a float tip over, and there’s people on the street just under those floats.”

Sheng also said the strong winds could cause debris to fly through the air, raising safety concerns.

New Orleans is within a Level 3 out of 5 severe weather threat, which includes risks of damaging winds, hail, and even tornadoes during Mardi Gras this year. Fox Weather

“So I’m just going to cut to the chase with the very disappointing news that I think you all have probably heard about already,” Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng said at the news conference Monday. “We’ve been in communication with the National Weather Service, and tomorrow’s weather, especially the gusty winds, is severe enough that we have no other choice but other than to cancel our scheduled parades for tomorrow.”

This includes the Krewe of Argus parade and the Elks Krewe of Jeffersonians, Sheng said.

The NWS’s New Orleans office has created a special web page dedicated to Mardi Gras weather updates, and forecasters expected the most significant chance of rain to occur between 6 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday. 

Officials have banned floats and marching bands due to concerns about strong winds, and parades are supposed to be off the street by 11:30 a.m. WireImage

Bianca Del Rio reigns as the Celebrity Monarch in the 2025 Krewe of Orpheus Parade during Mardi Gras on March 03, 2025 in New Orleans. WireImage

Fortunately, the timing will allow most Mardi Gras festivities to conclude before rainy weather moves in.

While about a third of all Mardi Gras events typically see rainfall, locals don’t recall a single instance of Fat Tuesday being postponed or canceled due to weather. 

Climatological data showed that the rainiest Mardi Gras happened March 1, 1927, when 2.12 inches of precipitation fell.

Climatological data showed that the rainiest Mardi Gras happened March 1, 1927, when 2.12 inches of precipitation fell. Fox Weather

The coldest Mardi Gras happened in 1989 when the temperature dropped to 22 degrees. 

City officials and organizers are closely monitoring the forecast, but at this point, the spirits that watch over the Big Easy may allow the festivities to go off without a hitch.

According to locals, major sites around New Orleans tend to close early Tuesday evening as the city shifts into cleanup mode in preparation for Ash Wednesday.

Police are warning that they may cancel the parades if conditions warrant, according to reports. WireImage

Unlike Easter, most Ash Wednesday services are held well after sunrise.

This means that the worst of the weather will likely have passed the New Orleans metro area by the time services begin.

Once the cold front moves through, Wednesday is expected to turn pleasant, with highs around 70 degrees and plenty of sunshine.