On average, temperatures tend to trend down in the Baton Rouge area as moves into Mid-December. Instead, thermometers will be warming through the week.

THE FORECAST:

Today and Tonight: Your Monday will be seasonable and sunny. Highs will be near 70° with light, northerly winds around 5mph. Overnight will remain clear and quiet with a low in the mid 40s.

Looking Ahead: Temperatures will be on an upward trend through the remainder of the week. Tuesday is shaping up to be another sun filled afternoon with highs nearing 70°. Lows into Wednesday will bump up a touch, bottoming out in the upper 40s. Wednesday through Friday will be in “well above average” territory with highs expected to warm well into the 70s. Besides some morning fog, only a few clouds should be noted during the afternoons.    

THE SCIENCE: 

Forecast Discussion: As expected, a weak cold front moved through the region on Sunday Evening. This front has done little more than reinforce the existing air mass. Now, surface high pressure will traverse the area from Texas to the Georgia coast over the next few days. This will keep winds northerly through Tuesday but then provide a southerly shift by Wednesday. As that occurs, southerly winds will transport an unseasonably warm air mass into the area with highs rising well into the 70s for the second half of the week. In the upper levels, a few fast moving disturbances will scoot by, but primarily north of the area introducing little more than a few clouds to our skies. The next storm system is expected to move into the region over the weekend providing showers and thunderstorms. Details remain sketchy 6-7 days out, but the possibility certainly exists for some stronger thunderstorms. We’ll be working that out as we move into the end of the week. Alas, the system does carry a high likelihood of returning rain to the area.

 --Josh

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