FIRST ALERT FORECAST: Warm, mainly dry weather prevails this week

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Most of us will enjoy a welcomed break this week from the rainy pattern that has dominated for much of the summer. Rain chances are posted at less than 20% each day from today through Friday.

Today, look for mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies and highs topping out in the low 90°s. While the vast majority of us will stay dry, a stray storm can’t be ruled out this afternoon.

The drier weather is compliments of an upper level trough situated over the eastern half of the country. Our location relative to the trough will allow for a drier, northerly flow to prevail for most of the week. Temperatures will be near normal for most of the week, with morning lows in the low 70°s and highs in the low 90°s.

One change you may notice beginning Tuesday and through the mid part of the week is a drop in humidity. A weak cool front could slip down to the coast by late Tuesday, allowing for some drier air to filter into the region.

The aforementioned upper level trough is also the primary steering mechanism for Tropical Storm Isaias. The official forecast from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) shows Isaias potentially becoming a minimal hurricane once again today before making landfall in the Carolinas tonight. Hurricane Warnings are posted to cover this possibility.

Isaias will move quickly northward, delivering tropical storm conditions to parts of the mid-Atlantic and New England.

Elsewhere in the tropics, a trough of low pressure north of the Leeward Islands is being monitored for potential development. NHC gives this system a 60% chance of development over the next 15 days. Initially, it is expected to move northwestward, but it may stall south of Bermuda by later in the week. Should it become a tropical storm at any point, the next name on the list is Josephine.

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