The weather is looking beautiful for Baseball at the Box and any other outdoor activities planned for the weekend!

Today and Tonight: A chilly morning will give way to a sunny and cool afternoon. Look for highs to top out in the low 60s which is just a touch below average for this time of year. If you will be attending the LSU Baseball game tonight, take additional layers as first pitch temperatures in the 50s will fall into the 40s beneath clear skies. The eventual low on Saturday Morning will be in the upper 30s.

Up Next: Quiet weather will be carried right through the weekend. Saturday will offer clear skies with highs in the mid 60s. Sunday Morning will start off a little closer to average with lows in the mid 40s. By the afternoon, southerly winds and mostly sunny skies will boost temperatures closer to 70 degrees. Highs will make into the mid 70s early next week. There is a slim shot at showers on Monday, but widespread rain should hold off until at least Tuesday Night.    

THE SCIENCE: 

Forecast Discussion: Surface high will be positioned over the region through Saturday. Clear skies and light winds will allow large diurnal temperatures ranges. By Sunday, that surface high will navigate to Florida bringing southerly winds back to Southeastern Louisiana and Southern Mississippi. With skies remaining mostly sunny, above average temperatures should result. A weak trough in the region may try to pop a stray shower on Monday. Up next, we’ll be monitoring a deepening shortwave trough cutting across the Lower Midwest. As of now, forecast models show this one to be fairly sharp with a negative tilt. At the surface, a 990-995mb low will develop in Oklahoma on Tuesday, with an associated cold front draped southward. The low is progged to race northeastward with the shortwave passing through Arkansas and into the Mid-Atlantic. This would bring the cold front through our region by Wednesday Morning. As for severe weather, further model diagnosis indicates a fairly unidirectional but speedy low level jet stream and thus helicity values come in around 250-300 which is marginal. Instability looks low right now, not that cool season severe storms need much. Dew points are marginal as well, forecast to be in the upper 50s. With all of that being said—we address the forecasting challenge of, “it’s just too far out.” This system is still over the poorly sampled Pacific Ocean and much can change between now and then. We’ll know more detail by Saturday and Sunday.

--Josh

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