BATON ROUGE — Gov. Jeff Landry declared a state of emergency ahead of a weekend storm that could bring snow, ice and brutally cold conditions to all of the state.

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Temperatures should dip below freezing sometime Saturday, and snow or ice could accumulate into Sunday.

Landry said his emergency order would allow the state to help impacted parishes directly. It also allows Louisiana to waive restrictions on commercial motor carriers and drivers assisting with emergencies in an effort to prevent shortages.

He said he is expecting "significant impacts" starting Friday in the northwestern parishes with "Arctic air" that will hang around into the next week. He said many southern parishes would be affected, but the storm posed a significant threat to central and north Louisiana. 

Significant icing is expected in parts of the state. Noting last year's significant snowfall, Landry said he would rather "have a snowstorm than an ice storm."

"An ice storm is going to create power outages, especially if we get the amount of ice [that is projected]," Landry said. He said to counteract this, the Public Service Commission ensured utilities' crews will work "around the clock based upon the weather at that time, and coordinate with our agencies to restore utilities as quickly as possible."

To prepare, Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development crews in the Baton Rouge area are loading trucks with salt to send to staging areas across the region ahead of possible winter weather this weekend.

He also urged people, once the event starts, not to go outside and to go on the road due to ice on the road. He also asked people to stay off the road in the coming days until the ice cleared.

Temperatures would dip below freezing as far south as Plaquemines Parish, south of New Orleans, on Monday and Tuesday mornings. In northern Louisiana, a winter storm warning was in effect for Friday night into Sunday. Baton Rouge is under a winter storm watch for Saturday night and Sunday.