Mardi Gras and the Rio Carnival are getting into full swing as we speak! MORECAST takes a look at the weather forecast for New Orleans and Rio, along with a few bonus tidbits of festivity information…
Mardis Gras:
With the culmination of Mardis Gras celebrations just days away, New Orleans is buzzing with festival fever. City center hotels have been widely sold-out since December, and Bourbon Street is gearing up for the Big Easy’s biggest night of year. Typically, the masses of partiers wearing their outlandish outfits will not have to be too concerned about cold weather, though there have been exceptions. Most notably, the blizzard of 1899 brought freezing conditions to the south during Mardi Gras. The lowest temperature ever recorded in New Orleans (7°F) was registered in the surge of cold air from Canada. That record low for February is a full 14 degrees colder than the record low in any other month of the year (14°F in January 1985). Luckily, there will be no such big freeze along the Gulf Coast this year.
Though not quite as drastically cold at the famous storm of 1899, we will see cooler than average temperatures through Tuesday and Tuesday night. Highs in the low 50s through Monday are in the cards, with the mercury dipping into the 40s for the Tuesday high. Breezy conditions and mostly clear skies will hold fast throughout the week, meaning no threat of a rained out parade. The carnival ending on Tuesday night will not feature a large temperature drop, with a fall only into the low 40s. Those dancing will be plenty warm, however spectators may want to bring a coat.
Rio Carnival:
Friday saw the first in a series of huge samba parades celebrating Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which will culminate in the champion’s parade just after midnight on Sunday, 13-February. Attended by up to 2 million spectators per day, it’s the largest example in the world of the carnival festival, the period when people let loose and leave the dreary complacency of everyday life temporarily behind them prior to recommitting themselves to religious devotion and temperance for the traditional Christian Lent. Many people wear masks or elaborate costumes, including women who wear skimpy, skin-baring outfits for dancing in the streets. Unlike their counterparts in New Orleans, these women can take comfort from the fact that Carnival takes place in the height of the Brazilian summer. It’s also close to the rainy season, however, making an accurate weather forecast crucial.
It looks like the early to mid-week period should feature pretty typical summertime weather for Rio, warm and muggy with a shot of scattered storms each afternoon and evening, especially from Wednesday into Thursday. Temperatures could reach the lower or middle 90s Fahrenheit (mid-30s Celsius) through Wednesday. A cold front will come through on Wednesday or Thursday, leaving behind cooler, drier conditions heading into next weekend with temperatures by Saturday and Sunday in the lower and middle 80s (upper 20s to 30 degrees C).
Consult the MORECAST app for daily forecast updates covering these international cities and more!