Heat warning today, more likely during the week

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Today’s forecast: A heat warning is in effect for most of our catchment area today from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Maximum temperatures will be between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius, with heat index values ​​reaching peaks of almost 43 degrees Celsius in some areas. Rain is unlikely, with the probability of rain today being less than 20%.

Even more heat ahead

An area of ​​high pressure at altitude will dominate our weather over the next few days, resulting in persistent hot conditions through the end of the week. Maximum temperatures will be between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius, with heat index readings ranging between 40 and 43 degrees Celsius on each day. With this in mind, additional heat warnings are likely to be issued.

The high pressure system also limits the chance of rain, generally keeping it at 20% or less through Friday.

Expanded outlook

The core of the high pressure dome will shift westward through the weekend, bringing with it some more showers and thunderstorms. Rain chances will rise again to 30-40%, but it will still be hot enough, with highs between 35 and 40 degrees.

Rainfall

Not surprisingly, moderate amounts of rain are forecast for the next 7 days. In general, the Weather Forecast Center shows that areas near and north of the interstates will receive less than 0.5 inches of precipitation, while areas south of I-10 will receive between 0.5 and 1.0 inches of precipitation.

Tropical Update

The chance of development continues to rise with a tropical wave east of the Lesser Antilles. Dry air will keep it in check for the next few days, but conditions should become more favorable toward the end of the week as it tracks west-northwest. The chance of development is given as 60%, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 1 a.m. update Tuesday. Many of our forecasts have the system near or east of Florida, but it’s too early to completely rule out a Gulf-bound direction, as some models leave that possibility open.

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