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The weight is lifted—no weather worries through the weekend! Returning sunshine, low humidity and cool to seasonable temperatures are in the forecast.
THE FORECAST:
Today and Tonight: Temperatures have really fallen off in the last 48 hours as a cold front has pushed through the area. Clouds may linger early on Thursday with some sun trying to break out by afternoon. Northwesterly winds behind a cold front will advance cooler air into the region and therefore high temperatures will likely fail to reach 70 degrees. Grab a jacket today and keep it handy for tonight, as skies clear and low temperatures fall into the low 50s. Some typical cool spots north of I-12 could hit the upper 40s!
Another positive behind a day of high impact weather--allergy sufferers will feel some relief. With the count at a 1 out of 12, pollen is as low as it has been since the growing season began. In addition, cloud cover will keep the U.V. Index a bit lower.
Rain turned out being the biggest issue on Wednesday. While many locations maxed out near the upper end of the 2-4 inch rainfall forecast, some locations in St. Mary Parish and westward toward Lafayette and Lake Charles received nearly 10 inches!
WATCH THIS: insane #hail video from Rapides Parish -- note the noise, trees being shredded... via Nicole Lemmons Johnson on Facebook | #LaWX pic.twitter.com/xgZaMWmjYe
— Josh Eachus (@JoshEachus) May 3, 2017
As for severe weather, tornadoes did not materialize but damaging wind did. The surprise was hail—some of it quite large!
Locally, large hail was reported in St. Mary Parish. A truck was damaged in Franklin. There was also a shed reported to be knocked over by strong wind. In Opelousas, trees were blown across Highway 93.
Up Next: Friday and Saturday will bring abundant sunshine, no humidity and light breezes. High temperatures will be in the mid to upper 70s with low temperatures in the low to mid 50s. By Sunday, temperature moderation will be underway as mainly clear skies continue. Thanks to low humidity, mornings will remain seasonable and near 60 degrees will mostly sunny skies help afternoon thermometers into the upper 80s.
THE SCIENCE: An upper level trough axis will be crossing the area today, so cloud cover will be slow to erode through the first half of the day. By late afternoon, skies should rapidly clear as increased subsidence develops throughout the atmospheric column. Northwesterly winds from surface to upper levels will promote maintenance of an unseasonable cool air mass through the first part of the weekend. Thursday and Friday nights will be the coolest periods as a surface high just south and west of the area continues light northwesterly breezes and clear skies maximize radiational cooling. Lows could briefly dip into the upper 40s in Southwest Mississippi. As the high pressure system shifts east of the area, thermometers will gradually moderate through the weekend but dew points will remain below 60 degrees and comfortable through Sunday. A very benign weather pattern will dominate the Gulf South into the first half of next week. Deep layer ridging will settle in across the area resulting in clear skies through the period. Temperatures will modify as highs rise into the upper 80s by Tuesday.
--Josh
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