Another Freeze Warning for Saturday AM

By Jay Grymes & Steve Caparotta

WAFB First Alert Quickcast:
- another FREEZE WARNING for tonight into Saturday morning

- warmer but very wet for Sunday into Monday

- another pair of freezes for next week

It was an extended freeze for most WAFB communities this morning although it didn’t get quite as cold as we have expected -- and we doubt that anyone is complaining about that!  Besides, we’ve got another chance for a freeze tonight into Saturday morning and it looks like it could get a degree or two colder for Saturday’s sunrise.

Metro Airport dipped below freezing before 2:00am earlier this morning and stayed at or below freezing until roughly 7:30am -- run of nearly six hours.  Even with today’s afternoon sunshine, some of us never got out of the 40°s today.  Now take today’s clear skies and add-in the expected light winds this evening and many of us will be set up for freezing temperatures by or before midnight.  That should let temps dip to or below this morning’s low readings by Saturday’s sunrise. With that in mind, the National Weather Service has once again posted a Freeze Warning.

So a little colder and a little longer in duration for the overnight freeze, but still not quite a “pipe wrapper.”  Look for temps at or below 32° for upwards of 6-9 hours in and around much of metro Baton Rouge, especially in those regular “cold pockets” where some of you live and always seem colder than the airport.  Expect an additional couple of hours of freezing temps for most areas north and east of the Capital City.

After that chiller of a start on Saturday, mainly sunny skies will be accompanied by a slow wind shift to the southeast by Saturday afternoon, bringing milder and slightly-more moist air off the Gulf.  We’re expecting a high on Saturday around 60° for the Red Stick -- still well-below normal for mid-November but quite a nice change compared to yesterday’s and today’s high temps. 

The change will also deliver a warmer overnight low for Saturday night into Sunday morning: we’re calling for Sunday morning lows in the mid to upper 40°s for metro BR.  At the same time, an upper-level system will tie-in with a low over the western Gulf, generating increasing clouds by Saturday evening with a very slight chance of rain before midnight.  The complex will make for a very wet Sunday: Sunday’s high gets into the 60°s with rains -- along with a thunderstorm or two -- continuing throughout the day.  The rains taper off on Monday but not before delivering from 1” to more than 2” of much-welcomed rain for many of us.

Skies clear late Monday into early Tuesday as our next Canadian air mass moves in ... and with that comes another pair of freezes for Tuesday and Wednesday morning!  So keep the heavy coats and comforters nearby!

Meanwhile, staying nice and quiet across the tropical Atlantic.​

Have a great weekend!