Storms Ending, Turning Much Cooler

By Jay Grymes & Steve Caparotta

WAFB Storm Team QuickCast:

- storms exiting overnight

- chilly Tuesday AM, sunny & cool afternoon

- record low likely for Wednesday morning

Today is proving just how dynamic our weather can be in the spring months. We woke up to a summer-like feel with temps in the mid 70°s and very high humidity levels. The warm (high of 86° in BTR) and humid air then helped fuel widespread shower and t-storm activity by afternoon in advance of a cold front. The storms prompted a Severe T-Storm Watch for just about all of our area and a Flash Flood Watch for some of our parishes southeast of Baton Rouge. And before April 14^th comes to a close at midnight, temperatures may have fallen some 25° - 30° from our afternoon highs in the wake of that cold front!

The good news is that through 6 PM we’ve only had 1 Severe T-Storm Warning (St. John & St. Charles parishes) and no confirmed reports of severe weather in our viewing area. Today’s storms have primarily produced frequent lightning and locally heavy rains. Doppler radar estimates show the heaviest downpours have occurred in southern parts of Tangipahoa Parish, where as much as 3” to 5” of rain may have fallen.

Much Cooler Tuesday - Wednesday!

While the cold front is passing through the area this evening, scattered showers and a few t-storms will remain possible for a while behind the front. Rains should come to an end well before sunrise on Tuesday, giving way to clearing skies and a rather chilly morning start. Tuesday starts out with temps in the mid 40°s and highs will only climb into the low 60°s despite returning sunshine.

And have you packed up the winter weather gear? If so, it may be time to get it back out! Wednesday morning will likely see record lows falling across much of the area. Our forecast of 35° for Baton Rouge would not only shatter the record for the date (39° in 1983), but it would also be the coldest temperature Baton Rouge has seen this late in April in records dating back to the 1890s!

Extended Outlook

Wednesday stays on the cool side into the afternoon, but temperatures will quickly return to more typical April levels by the end of the week. Highs will be close to 80° each day from Friday into the weekend.

The warmer weather will also coincide with a return of good rain chances. Look for scattered showers to develop by late Thursday, with showers and t-storms likely on Friday. At this point, we’ll keep low-end rain chances (~20%) in the weekend forecast, but most of your outdoor plans should be just fine.

And finally…if Mother Nature allows (and it’s a big ‘if’), a total lunar eclipse will be visible tonight. The partial eclipse begins at 12:58 AM locally, with the eclipse entering ‘totality’ at 2:06 AM. The total eclipse concludes at 3:24 AM and the partial eclipse will wind down by 4:33 AM. The big question is whether clouds will clear out in time for us to see the eclipse. It looks borderline for many of us, but those west of the Capital City probably have a somewhat better chance of getting some breaks in the cloud cover at the time of the eclipse. Good luck if you decide to give it a shot late tonight!