Better rain chances deliver some modest relief from the heat

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - A weak cold front sagging southward through the area should deliver better rain chances by this afternoon and evening.

I’m going with a 50%-60% coverage of showers and t-storms, but the rains likely hold off long enough to still allow highs to reach the low to mid 90s in most areas. In fact, rain coverage may not peak until late this afternoon or evening.

Rest of This Week

Scattered showers and t-storms will continue on Thursday as the front meanders nearby. Temperatures will be interesting to monitor with the increased cloud cover and rainfall. Wednesday likely will make it 99 straight days with a high at or above 90 degrees, but Thursday looks to be a close call as to whether we make it 100 straight. Either way, rains and heat relief are certainly welcome in our part of the world.

Friday should see a slight decrease in rain chances before they rebound again on Saturday in association with a second cool front. There is some uncertainty on the timing of the weekend front, but isolated to scattered rains may also linger into Sunday. High temperatures on both days are expected to top out in the low 90s.

Extended Outlook

Drier air makes a return for most of next week in the wake of the weekend cool front. Temperatures won’t change much, although we should at least squeeze out 2-3 mornings with lows in the upper 60s. But afternoon highs will continue to top out in the low to mid 90s.

Tropical Update

The Atlantic remains rather active as we continue to track Hurricane Lee, Hurricane Margot, and another disturbance over the eastern Atlantic. Lee is expected to slowly weaken over the next couple of days while turning northward over the western Atlantic. However, it appears increasingly likely that Lee will deliver significant wind and coastal impacts to parts of New England and Atlantic Canada, even as it transitions into a non-tropical low by the weekend.

Elsewhere, Margot is forecast to remain over the open Atlantic, while the disturbance over the eastern Atlantic is now given an 80% chance of development. That one is expected to track west-northwest to northwest in the days ahead over the open Atlantic. If it were to become a tropical storm, the next name up is Nigel.

Click here to report a typo.

Copyright 2023 WAFB. All rights reserved.