All the parades and pageantry of the 2011 Carnival Season lead to the celebration of Fat Tuesday in South Mississippi.

Schools and many offices were closed Tuesday for four parades that were to roll through Biloxi, Gulfport and Bay St. Louis. Other areas along the Mississippi coast held parades over the weekend.

In New Orleans, the Tuesday festivities started nearly as soon as the sun rose with the Zulu parade extravaganza, followed by Rex, the king of Mardi Gras.

Along the Mississippi coast, the weather forecast called for a 40 percent chance of showers during the day with showers and thunderstorms in the evening, mainly after midnight.