The power went out about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at Tristen Gros and her husband's home on Jolie Oaks Boulevard, just south of the Thibodaux city limits.
It didn't fully return until between 7:30 and 8 a.m. Thursday.
Gros said she and her husband used a generator to power space heaters for about four hours before the generator ran out of gas. The thermostat in the home read about 50 degrees, she said.
During the outage, Gros was most concerned about the couple's cat, dog and snake.
"Our snake needs heat to survive," she said. "He was very cold. We were very worried that he wouldn't make it through the night, but luckily, we were able to get hand warmers to help him."
Temperatures dropped into the teens Wednesday. Power outages began late Tuesday night after cold weather damaged Entergy equipment, the company said.
Entergy reported Wednesday that power outages affected 9,000 customers in Lafourche and 24 in Terrebonne. However, the company said Thursday that the latter number was incorrect and that 990 customers in Terrebonne were affected.
RESTORING POWER
About 250 customers in Lafourche and Terrebonne were without power for over 24 hours, Entergy spokeswoman Deanna Lafont said. Entergy does not pay claims or offer other compensation for weather-related outages, she added.
Lafont said more outages were reported for this cold snap than the one at the beginning of the month. The exact number of outages last time wasn't immediately available, but Lafont said there was a "minimal" amount.
"The length of time that we were below freezing temperatures while it was raining caused ice to form on our equipment," she said. "This did not occur during any of the other cold weather events."
Lafont said the weather caused such a strain that Entergy could not restore power to all customers at once. Therefore, she said, the company cut power to some customers for a few hours Wednesday in order to restore power to those who'd been without it all day.
Gros said she and her husband took trips in the car to get out of the cold house. At home, they dressed in layers and bundled up with several blankets and their pets.
One of the most frustrating things, she said, was not knowing when power would be restored.
"Every time we would check the outage map online, they pushed restoration times back," she said. "At first it was noon, then 4 p.m., then 8 p.m. and so on. At one point, it said we would not gain power until 3 p.m. (Thursday). Luckily, we were able to get power earlier than that, though. ... It would have been great if we knew it was going to be out for 24 hours so that we could prepare and find somewhere to stay for the night. But because they were inconsistent with the restoration times, we weren't able to make any accommodations."
Lafont said crews provide best estimates for restoration times, but those can change if equipment damage is more extensive than they initially thought.
SCHOOLS CLOSE
Public and Catholic schools in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes remain closed today because of the weather.
Terrebonne Parish public schools closed Thursday because of "unresolved mechanical issues," which Superintendent Philip Martin said varied between heating, water pressure, thermostats, gas pressure and broken pipes.
"When we met yesterday at 2 (p.m.), there were three schools with minor issues," Martin said. "But as we began discovering things, that list grew more and more and more, and it just wasn't feasible to open the schools."
The closure was extended through today because of low water pressure or no water pressure at several schools, a boil-water advisory and other issues related to the freeze.
Makeup days will be scheduled before spring testing for the 17,906 students in the Terrebonne Parish Public School District, but those days have not yet been decided.
"Quite honestly, we're focused on getting schools open and functioning," Martin said.
Lafourche Parish public schools also closed Thursday because of low temperatures in the morning and water issues, such as low water pressure and broken pipes.
Superintendent Jo Ann Matthews said the district, which serves 14,662 students, already has emergency days built into its school calendar so no makeup days will be scheduled.
"Every day lost has some impact," she said. "We can't account for Mother Nature, but we do what we need to do for the safety of the children."
Lafourche's closure was extended through today because of widespread boil advisories, as well as low water pressure in many areas of the parish.
Over 5,000 students in the Catholic schools under the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux were also out of school Thursday and today. According to the Diocese's Facebook page, school was canceled Wednesday "due to expected weather conditions," but no reason was given for Thursday's closure.
Catholic schools Superintendent Suzanne Trosclair could not be reached.
The Bayou Community Academy in Thibodaux was also closed today.
WATER PRESSURE
Several areas throughout Lafourche remained under a boil water advisory Thursday because of a drop in water pressure. In a news release, Lafourche Parish Water District No. 1 said it would rescind the advisory once the state Department of Health and Hospitals tested samples and determined the water is safe.
The Water District asked all residents to conserve water because of the increased demand on the system.
Richard Rudnik and his wife live in the Evangeline Heights subdivision in Bayou Blue, where he said water flow had been reduced to a trickle.
"Folks are using buckets in their bathtubs to save the trickle so they can fill their toilet tanks and flush," he said. "The bathtub in our house is the only faucet that flows anything, and then only sporadically. Ironically, we have family a couple miles down Bayou Blue Road on Hidden Acres and they can shower and do wash just fine, although their pressure is a bit lower than normal."
Rudnik said the freeze earlier this month led to low water pressure but didn't seriously affect residents' daily lives.
He said he turned off his hot water heater for fear it would break without water coming in.
Water District representatives couldn't be reached Thursday afternoon. Rudnik said he'd heard conflicting accounts of what caused the low pressure and when the problem might be resolved.
"The frustrating thing is not knowing," he said. "I think everyone understands this is a historic cold front, but we'd like some answers to put us at ease."
-- Staff Writer Bridget Mire can be reached at 448-7639 or bridget.mire@dailycomet.com. Follow her on Twitter @bridget_mire.