Finally Drying Out!

By Jay Grymes & Steve Caparotta

June 1st First Alert Quickcast:
- today marks the official start of the 2015 Hurricane Season

- a “drier” pattern expected this week with only spotty showers each day

- at this time of year, “drier” usually means “hotter” too

After storms pounding a number of WAFB neighborhoods over the weekend, few are likely to be complaining about today’s drier weather pattern.  Yes, there were a handful of showers and a few rumbles of thunder over the southern parishes, but the weather was dry for the vast majority of us, including Tiger baseball fans at the Box -- and congrats to the LSU Boys of Summer on their regional win!

Our forecast remains mainly-dry through the upcoming work week.  Even with a stalled, meandering front drifting over the southern parishes for the next day or two, mid- and upper-levels of the atmosphere will remain quite dry and inhibit the onset of rains each day.  Now we can’t say “absolutely no rain” through Friday, but we’re going with spotty-at-best for each of the next several afternoons.

While the official start of summer is still three weeks away, the thermometer will read like summer each afternoon, with highs getting up around 90° most days this week for the Capital City and surroundings.  The one notable difference from our typical summer temperatures will be our relatively mild morning starts, with sun-up temperatures in the 60°s for most of this week.  Dew points in the 60°s - - relatively comfortable for this time of year - - will be courtesy of mid-level northwesterly and northerly flow, with some of that “drier” air aloft making it down to the surface.

So we set rain chances at under 20% through Saturday, with rain chances at a mere 20% for Sunday.  Although June is often a little drier and less humid than July and August, rain chances at 20% or less are a bargain nonetheless.

Don’t forget, our 2015 edition of “The 5th Season” air right after the 6:00pm Newscast tonight.  Can’t make it?  Not to worry.  The special will air a couple of additional times over the coming days, or better still, catch it on-line at WAFB.com.