Rain showers will continue to meander across the region through Election Day. An additional half inch of rain is possible by Wednesday Afternoon with slightly higher amounts southeast of Baton Rouge.

THE FORECAST:

Today and Tonight: For Election Day, off-and-on showers and thunderstorms will continue. Grab the umbrella in the morning for work and school and have it handy in case one of those showers is over your voting location. Indications are that there is a better shot at rain south and east of Baton Rouge with nuisance drizzle, mist and occasional light rain elsewhere. High temperatures will be limited to the low 70s due to overcast skies and periodic showers. At night, precipitation will begin to taper with lows in the low 60s.

Up Next: On Wednesday, showers should end early from north to south with the possibility of sunshine by afternoon. High temperatures will head for the mid 70s. The remainder of the week will feature mainly clear skies and seasonable temperatures with highs in the mid 70s and lows in the mid 50s. The next threat for rain shouldn’t come until late in the weekend or early next week.  

The Tropics: The tropics are quiet and no development is expected this week.

THE SCIENCE:

Forecast Discussion:  An upper level trough over Northern Texas will continue to allow waves of vorticity to roll overhead the Central Gulf Coast. With deep layer moisture in place and modest upper air divergence, overcast skies and rounds of showers will continue through Wednesday Morning before that trough pinches off in to an upper low and a surface high pressure system dropping southward into the Midwest results in a drier air mass taking hold. With more moisture convergence in the coastal waters near a developing surface low, more widespread showers are expected to stay south of Baton Rouge. Therefore, inland areas can expect isolated to scattered activity. Rainfall amounts will be highest near the coast, but no more than one or two additional inches. Inland, another half inch to an inch by Wednesday Afternoon seems more reasonable. Mainly clear skies will be around for the end of the week due to that surface high taking over. Models are showing another shortwave trough traversing the region Friday Night and again on Sunday. The former may be accompanied by another batch of cooler air but has little moisture available for an rain. By late in the weekend, there is a possibility that enough moisture is available for this upper trough to produce a couple of showers followed by perhaps another front early next week.    

--Josh