Looking Good for the Parades!

By Jay Grymes & Steve Caparotta

Brief Update on Rivers

A quick comment on area rivers:  even with the 1" to 3" of rain during Feb 25-26, none of the local rivers across the Florida Parishes (in our viewing area) returned to 'flood.'  Several sites saw slight rises in response to the rains and the rates of 'fall' at all gauging sites have slowed (temporarily) ... but all-in-all it looks like the rains on Tuesday and Wednesday had little significant impact for those concerned about seasonal flooding.

Cold This Morning, Again Friday AM

As for the today, just as promised, it was clearing skies for the early morning with a light freeze for just about everyone living near or north of the I-10/12 corridor.  Morning sunshine had temperatures rising nicely with readings in the upper 40°s to lower 50°s by lunchtime.

Parade Weather

Viewers to the north and east of the Red Stick can expect another brief, light freeze for Friday morning under fair skies.  It gets noticeably warmer for Friday afternoon, with highs in the mid to upper 60°s for the Capital City.  Parade goers and participants for the Krewe of Southdowns on Friday evening will not be too disappointed - - although clouds will be increasing, there’ll be no rain for the parade as the Flambeaus take to the streets with parade temperatures in the low 60°s.

We'll start Saturday with a little patchy fog in places and temps in the 50°s at sunrise.  Saturday looks like a day with a sun/cloud mix but it also stays dry, with afternoon readings climbing into the 70°s -- just about perfect for the lively Spanish Town Parade!

Sunday into Mardi Gras

Sunday starts with morning lows in the upper 50°s to low 60°s around the viewing area, again with some patchy fog.  Afternoon temps will return to the 70°s for more of that springtime feel, but it will be a tad more humid during the afternoon.  A cold front will be approaching south Louisiana from the north and northwest on Sunday, bringing in more Gulf moisture on the winds ahead of the front.  With the daytime warming, we can expect isolated to scattered showers to develop on Sunday afternoon and into the early evening.

For now, the NWS has the cold front passing through the Baton Rouge metro area during the pre-dawn hours Monday, with showers and t-storms likely during the overnight and early morning.  It's still a little too early to fully evaluate the severe weather threat with the coming cold front: we'll keep an eye on that.

But the really good news is that most -- if not all -- of the rain gets out of the way during Monday morning, leaving a "mostly dry" Lundi Gras afternoon and a cool-but-dry forecast for 'Fat Tuesday.'​