Temperatures fell more than 20 degrees in just a few hours Wednesday afternoon. As a cold front advances into the Gulf of Mexico, breezy, cooler and drier conditions will prevail to end the week.

Next 24 Hours: Showers will diminish early tonight followed by clearing skies. The bigger story will be the rapid change in temperatures that began earlier in the day. Thermometers will back into the low 40s by morning. Winds will be out of the north at 15-20mph with occasionally higher gusts. Thursday will be a pretty day but well below average with regard to temperatures. Readings will struggle to eclipse 60 degrees despite ample sunshine. North winds will stay brisk at 10-15mph.   

*WIND ADVISORY* for the shaded area. Gusts may top 40mph. The latest winds --> https://t.co/1NFYtpXuPb #lawx #mswx pic.twitter.com/RdZxxElaiw

— WBRZ Weather (@WBRZweather) March 31, 2021

Up Next: The week will end on a nice and cool note. Friday morning will be the chilliest period of the forecast with low temperatures in the upper 30s. Some patchy frost is even possible, especially north and east of Baton Rouge, so you may want to protect vegetation sensitive to temperatures below 40 degrees. Plenty of sun will be around for another afternoon in the 60s. Over the weekend, gradually moderating temperatures are anticipated with lows in the mid to upper 40s and highs in the upper 60s and low 70s. A few more clouds will be around each day. There really is no solid chance for rain through early next week. CLICK HERE for your full 7-Day Forecast.   

The Explanation: Winds will accelerate out of the northwest to promote cold air advection Wednesday night into Thursday. A WIND ADVISORY is in place for parishes south of I-10 for sustained winds of 25-35mph and the possibility of gusts over 40mph. Morning lows will then be about 20 degrees cooler Thursday versus Wednesday. A much drier air mass will also allow for clear skies through Thursday night. The heart of the cold pool will settle over the region Friday morning and low temperatures will dip into the upper 30s with some locations north and east of Baton Rouge potentially seeing frost with readings in the mid 30s. A moderating trend in temperatures is then expected into the weekend. A fast moving upper level disturbance will move across the area on Saturday but with little moisture in the atmosphere, rain chances are barely above zero. However, an uptick in cloud cover may be noticed. A broad upper level ridge will take over the South Central U.S. early next week resulting in sinking air and therefore mainly clear skies and warming temperatures. At the surface, an area of high pressure in the Southeast U.S. will promote a return to southeast winds and gradually increasing moisture. This will lead to low temperatures returning top the 50s on Monday and slowly moderating back to the 60s by the middle of the week. With a lid on the atmosphere, rain chances will stay very limited despite the added moisture.  

--Josh

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