Gradual Clearing on Thursday

By Jay Grymes & Steve Caparotta

WAFB First Alert Quickcast:

- waiting on the rains to end, slow clearing on Thursday

- warming trend for Friday & the weekend

A chilly and dreary day for many of us with rains falling throughout and the clouds keeping most us from getting out of the 40°s.  But here’s a little positive spin: although we did see a bit more rain than we expected -- especially around the metro area and points north -- it was a great “garden rain.”  Never any really serious downpours, with most of the rains falling at rates that would allow a good bit of it to soak into the soils.  As a result, even with an inch of rain and more in some locations, there weren’t any significant issues with roadway flooding or standing water for the evening commute.

  

The rains will end overnight but the clouds will linger well into the day on Thursday.  We’ll call for a morning low in the upper 30°s near the state line to the mid 40°s closer to the coast -- plan on a morning low in the low 40°s for metro Baton Rouge.  Clouds will be slowly clearing through mid-day and into the afternoon and should allow just enough sunshine to get most or all of us into the 50°s for the afternoon.

Skies should completely clear out through the overnight: we’re still calling for a light freeze for most areas along and north of the I-10/12 corridor for Friday’s sunrise under those clear skies.  Friday gets a little warmer with Baton Rouge highs in the upper 50°s to near 60° -- still cooler than normal but the start of a warming trend that extends through the weekend.

For Friday night’s Artemis Parade, the ladies will be pleased that there is no rain to deal with, although it will be cool.  Just dress for it.  Temps will drop into the 40°s during the parade.

We’ve got more than a half-dozen parades across the viewing area on Saturday, and Mother Nature comes through with a weekend winner!  Although Saturday starts off chilly with sunrise temps in the upper 30°s for the Red Stick, we’ll enjoy a nice warm-up under fair skies with afternoon highs reaching the upper 60°s for most of us.  And Sunday?  Downtown’s Krewe of Mutts and Addis’s Fireman’s Parade will be pleased with a morning start in the upper 40°s to near 50° and an afternoon high in the 70°s under fair skies.

Whether you go parading or not, this will be a fine February weekend.

We’ve got a weak cold front on the forecast board making its way through Louisiana on Monday.  Monday’s highs should get into the upper 60°s to around 70° before the cooler air behind the front takes effect.  While the guidance models are differing on the front’s rain potential, it doesn’t appear to be very impressive -- we’ll go with just a 20% to 30% rain chance for the day, with it all sweeping clear that evening.