Look for a near repeat of Thursday’s weather Friday. In fact, Friday morning lows may slip a couple of degrees cooler than Thursday’s low 70s for metro Baton Rouge.
The First Alert Forecast says get ready for three more days of the same pattern. Morning starts will be in the low 70s Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, with afternoon highs in the low 90s.
Friday’s weather story was mainly about temperatures in the 90°s and the heat index running at 100° or more for several hours during the afternoon. There were a couple of blips within the area on the afternoon radar, but very few WAFB neighborhoods got a rain-break from the afternoon heat.
‘Category 1’ Hanna made landfall on Padre Island south of Corpus Christi at 5 p.m. on Saturday with estimated maximum sustained winds of 90 mph. Hanna’s official second landfall on the Texas mainland was at approximately 6:15 p.m.
Although the system is not especially well organized, it has been taking on a configuration that suggests it could become Tropical Depression #8 as early as Wednesday afternoon or evening.
Monday’s rains were a product of an easterly wave, a tropical disturbance moving from east-to-west across the northern Gulf. While development chances remain very low, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has dubbed this feature as Invest 90L
After a mild and dry start to Thursday for most WAFB neighborhoods, showers and thunderstorms rolled in from the east as the First Alert Storm Team had anticipated.
Even with the scattered afternoon rains and more widespread cloud, cover Wednesday highs still managed to reach the low to mid 90°s for most WAFB neighborhoods.
The heat index briefly hit 110° at Baton Rouge’s Metro Airport for the second day in a row as oppressive heat continues around the area, validating the string of 5 straight days with Heat Advisories in effect for the WAFB region.
Monday was another brutally hot day with temperatures climbing into the mid 90′s and the heat index climbing to 110° or more for many WAFB neighborhoods. While this may not be record heat, it remains very dangerous.
A high-pressure ridge that has been centered over the southwest U.S. will be strengthening and expanding eastward over the next several days. As many of you know, upper-level atmospheric ridging not only can inhibit significant rainfall, but also can result in a considerable warm-up.
The good news about Tuesday’s rains was that the day was not a repeat of the widespread monster downpours that we saw in sections of the WAFB viewing area on Monday.
Rain is back for both Saturday and Sunday with the Storm team setting rain chances at 70% to 80% for both days. But, neither day is expected to be an all-day washout.
The First Alert forecast calls for a near repeat of Wednesday’s weather Thursday, and it seems likely the NWS will issue another Heat Advisory Thursday too.
Take extra care if you are expecting to spend time outdoors over the next few days. That’s especially true if you are spending time in the direct sunshine, which can add another 10° or more to the “feels like” temperature.
While the Storm Team does not anticipate an active afternoon, the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center does have much of the area under a low-end Marginal Risk for severe storms Saturday.
