BATON ROUGE - This weekend will feel more like August since forecasters expect highs in the mid-80s.

Compared to this time last year, there is an almost 20 degree temperature difference. People are having to adjust to the unusual forecast.

"It has a tendency to hurt the business," Joey DuPont said. DuPont typically would be selling firewood this time of the year.

"Individuals have a tendency to not want to get a fire going whenever it's 85 degrees outside," he said jokingly in an interview with WBRZ reporter Brett Buffington for the Friday edition of WBRZ News 2 at 10:00. "I'd like to see the 30s and the 20s."

It will be a while until those temperatures make the forecast, though.

Friday evening, the WBRZ weather team said warmer temperatures will linger in the seven-day forecast. Saturday will be warm and windy. Sunday, it remains warm, breezy and muggy. Heavy rain and thunderstorms could help knock overnight temperatures in the high 40s Sunday night and Monday morning.

"The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center has placed our region under a 'marginal risk' for severe weather indicating a 5% chance for a severe thunderstorm within 25 miles of a given point," meteorologist Josh Eachus wrote on the WBRZ Weather Blog Friday. "The WBRZ Weather Team expects the most likely area for a severe thunderstorm to be along and north of I-12. The main threat would be gusty wind along the initial squall line. Once it passes, moderate to heavy rain may persist for a few hours," he posted.

Click here for a more in depth analysis from Josh.

As DuPont watches the forecast closely, he admitted he will still be stockpiling wood.

"We're stocking up, we believe it's going to be a cold January and February," he said.

***************

Follow the publisher of this post on Twitter: @treyschmaltz