New Orleans, LA: Top Things to Know About Storage
Dangerous Weather
New Orleans has a humid subtropical climate, meaning short and mild winters and hot and humid summers. The city is definitely not a dry place, especially during the summer. Humidity is accompanied by rain, creating high dew points throughout the summer months. If you’re looking to put your things in a storage unit any time between May and September, make sure you find a facility that has climate controlled units. You want to be careful about storing objects that are made out of wood or metal, furniture, antiques, artwork, and books, because the heat and humidity can cause a lot of damage to your belongings. You should also try to find a facility that has covered loading and unloading zones so you can access your storage unit without getting drenched in the summer rains.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, New Orleans is also the nation’s most vulnerable city to hurricanes. New Orleans has a low elevation, is surrounded by water from the north, south, and east, and has a sinking coast. Hurricanes bring very strong winds and can cause severe flooding, which have wreaked havoc throughout the whole city in the past (Hurricane Katrina). The city has been left devastated more than once, so when you’re looking for a storage facility, ask the manager what precautions he/she took to ensure the safety of his/her tenants’ belongings. Surprisingly there were some facilities that were able to ensure that there was no damage done to them.
Beads and Beer
Mardi Gras is an all-consuming and much awaited event that takes place at beginning of each year. In preparation for the event, parades begin in January and continue through the first week of February. The parades consist of marching bands and floats that are constructed in the city. They proceed through the French Quarter, Westbank, Uptown New Orleans, and various other places in the area. People from all over the nation fly in to attend and experience the fun. The festival is also filled with a bunch of food vendors and alcohol. Anyone who has attended Mardi Gras can get a feel for all of the crazy preparation that goes into throwing the event at the end of February, which obviously means a huge need for storage space. First of all, they need to store the thousands of beads that are being thrown around, so count at least a few storage units for that. Then they have tons of alcohol that needs to be kept nearby for the duration of the event. This means that you can consider the climate controlled units in the area to be booked at the beginning of the year. Also, the floats need to be stored somewhere, so what better place than a nearby storage facility? So the larger units are booked as well. As you can see, storage facilities are very busy in the beginning of the year because the hosts and vendors of Mardi Gras need that extra space. You should also be wary of road closures that take place for the parades and festival. There are actually a lot of them, and you can expect there to be high traffic the days of the parades and the festival. Be sure to plan your visit to your storage unit accordingly!
The French Quarter
Another festival that takes places in the French Quarter is the French Quarter Festival. This is a four day event that is filled with more than 300 hours of entertainment, and more than 400 musical performances that take place on the 23 stages set up throughout the streets. The performances are accompanied by multiple food vendors and attended by thousands of guests. The hosts of this event definitely need to store their equipment nearby in order to prepare for the event. Storage facilities are bound to be packed, and so are the streets. There are multiple road closures that come with this event, and tons of traffic, so be sure to find your way around it or avoid going to your storage unit during these days.
Jazz
The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival takes place at the end of April and is a ten day event. Jazz enthusiasts from around the world attend this event, with an average of 460,000 fans gathering over the course of the festival. The festival entails non-stop music, a showcase of arts and crafts, and more than 60 food booths. Again there is a definite need for storage in the area that will inhibit your access to your unit.
There are tons of events that take place in New Orleans throughout the year, but the biggest ones are concentrated more so in the beginning of the year. The hosts of these events need a lot of storage space, but the need is generally pretty temporary so you can easily plan around them. As for a way to avoid traffic, try to store in a facility that allows for 24 hour access to your unit so that you can easily get to your stuff if you need it during any of these festivals. A little bit of research can save you a lot of time (And road rage!).
