A blast of cold air arrives Wednesday night. This will produce temperatures close to freezing for several mornings, so be sure to protect pets and plants in the coming days. As we get closer to 2024, our attention then shifts to a few disturbances which might bring a couple rounds of rain.

Tonight & Tomorrow: Cloud cover will quickly be swept away by a cold front on Wednesday evening. We’ll feel the effect of this frontal passage early Thursday as low temperatures dip into the middle-30s in Baton Rouge. A slight northwest breeze may produce a wind chill factor. This would make the air feel below freezing when factoring in the wind. A few spots north of I-10/12 and in southwest Mississippi might actually hit the freezing mark. Please ensure that your pets have a warm shelter and protect sensitive plants. Thursday will be a sunny day, but cold. Temperatures will top out in the midde-50s in the metro area.

Up Next: You’ll need to keep the jackets and coats handy through the rest of the week. Lows on Friday morning will be near or slightly below freezing just about everywhere. It also remains cold on Friday afternoon with highs in the mid-50s yet again. We keep lows in the 30s over the weekend as well, but afternoon highs will steadily climb. By New Year’s Eve, we’re looking at highs in the mid to upper-60s.

The forecast remains dry around midnight as we ring in the new year. However, a wave of rain will be approaching from the west. There is a chance of showers overnight and into the morning hours on New Year’s Day. If this system decides to move a touch faster, this could be an issue closer to midnight on New Year’s Day. Check back with the Storm Station in the coming days to see if any adjustments are needed. This will be a fast-moving system, so rain totals likely won’t exceed 0.5”. After that, our eyes turn to the next storm system. That appears to bring a slightly better chance of rain on Wednesday.

-- Meteorologist Malcolm Byron

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