A few storms today but rains become more widespread this weekend; Danielle strengthens to hurricane

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Guidance has continued to trend slower with the arrival of some deep tropical moisture, leaving us with one more day of modest rain chances. Most of us stay mainly dry through the morning hours, with temperatures quickly climbing to around 90 degrees. Into the afternoon, a few showers and t-storms will be possible, with best chances near and west of metro Baton Rouge. The delayed arrival of more widespread rains will allow for one more day of highs in the low to mid 90s.

Rains will become widespread for the holiday weekend as tropical moisture surges northward from the Gulf of Mexico. Rain chances are posted around 30% from Saturday into Labor Day Monday. A few showers and storms will be possible each morning, but activity should be more widespread from around lunchtime into the afternoon hours. The clouds and rainfall will keep highs below normal, generally in the mid to upper 80s.

If you’re planning on tailgating for Southern’s season opener up on the Bluff, pack the rain gear and have a plan in place for safe shelter in case any lightning moves into the area.

The outlook is similar for Tiger fans heading to New Orleans on Sunday to watch the opener in the Dome. Plan on dealing with some showers and t-storms during the day, with rain chances gradually diminishing during the evening.

The threat for some locally heavy rainfall will also increase into the weekend. A Level 2/4 (slight) risk of flooding is still posted for much of our area on Saturday. A Level 1/4 (marginal) risk of flooding is posted on Sunday.

A somewhat active pattern is expected to continue into much of next week, with perhaps a slight lull in activity somewhere in the Wednesday-Thursday timeframe. But our extended outlook keeps rain chances in the 50%-70% range, with highs generally in the upper 80s. The 7-day rainfall outlook from the Weather Prediction Center shows totals averaging 1.0″-2.5″ for much of our area, with locally higher amounts possible.

The good news is that it’s not expected to threaten any land areas anytime soon as it meanders over the open ocean. Elsewhere, we continue to monitor a tropical disturbance east of the Lesser Antilles. Development odds are listed at 70% with that one and it should also avoid land for the next several days. Finally, the window for potential development for a tropical wave over the eastern Atlantic appears to be closing.

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