Wednesday, October 31, 2012

The Warm-Up Continues!

By Jay Grymes & Steve Caparotta

Wednesday was a mighty fine day across the WAFB ‘country,’ and the evening weather promises to be kind to the little Gremlins as they run through area neighborhoods. We’re calling for temps to slip from the mid 70°s around 6pm to the mid to upper 60°s at 8pm -- the hours for Trick-or-Treating in EBR Parish.


Skies will stay mainly clear overnight, with sunrise temps in the low 50°s for metro BR. Thursday will be another beauty, with mostly sunny skies and highs getting just a tad warmer, reaching the low 80°s. It will be warmer still for Friday.

An upper-level ridge currently located just to our west will steadily shift eastward over the next few days, becoming centered over the lower Mississippi Valley by Friday, then continuing east into the weekend.

We’ll continue to warm-up as the ridge approaches and sits overhead, but as it moves to the east, it will allow our next front to approach. For now, we’re still calling for a warm and mainly-dry afternoon for Saturday -- LSU Game Day as the Alabama Crimson Tide comes a’calling. A return of southerly flow ahead of the weekend front will mean spotty showers possible for Saturday afternoon and early evening, but not enough for concern for tailgaters or those lucky enough to have tickets to the game.



But the front is scheduled to arrive on Sunday, and we’re going with scattered rains -- currently setting rain chances at 40%. The front clears out by early Monday, delivering a cooler but not cold air mass and setting the region up for a good looking “Election Tuesday.”

Thankfully for the northeastern U.S., the “super storm” named Sandy has weakened considerably over the past 24 hours, and while ‘she’ is still readily evident on radar and satellite imagery, the system has lost much of its punch. No doubt, the recovery will be ongoing for weeks, even months. But much of the region has already made great strides in the long recovery, and much of New York City is back in operation. Still, when all the numbers are in, don’t be surprised if Sandy proves to be the most expensive natural disaster ever for the United States!

No comments:

Post a Comment