Friday, May 3, 2013

Record Lows Likely Saturday Morning!

By Jay Grymes & Steve Caparotta


As we expected, the front moved through metro Baton Rouge during the early morning, making it a wet commute for many.  The rains ended by or before 9AM for most WAFB neighborhoods (a little later for our easternmost viewers) but the clouds and brisk northwesterly winds kept the better part of the day uncomfortably cool, especially by May standards. 
As we head into the afternoon, satellite imagery is showing that the “clearing line” for the clouds was advancing slowly eastward.  Although the Capital City likely will see at least a little sunshine before sunset, temps in the 50°s and brisk winds for the afternoon and early evening will mean a chilly downtown “Live After Five.”  So go ahead and head downtown to enjoy “U4ria” ... just be sure to dress for it!
The winds will subside as we head into the late night -- add in clear skies and the cold-and-dry Canadian air mass -- and we’ve got the ingredients for a record low to start Saturday morning!  We’re posting a forecast low of 41° for Baton Rouge for Saturday’s sunrise: the current record for May 3rd is 43°.

The good weather news is that you can expect lots of sunshine for the weekend.  In fact, we are done with rain for a nice, long stretch of days.  Highs on Saturday will climb into the low 70°s, with a reinforcing surge of dry, continental air working into the lower Mississippi Valley late Saturday into early Sunday. 
Sunday -- May 5th, Cinco de Mayo -- will start off cold again, with morning lows in the mid to upper 40°s.  That means that we could make a run at Sunday’s record low also: 45°, set in 1954.  This second surge of cool and dry air will also keep highs around 70° for Sunday -- not bad by any means, but well below early May norms (low 80°s).
After the weekend, we’ll see a steady warming trend with afternoon highs back in the low 80°s by mid-week.  In the extended, the models are hinting at scattered rains returning by next Friday with decent rain chances in the outlook for next weekend.

But let’s leave the worry about next weekend for next week ... make plans and set aside some time to enjoy THIS weekend’s nice weather!

No comments:

Post a Comment