Heat relief on the horizon, but strong storms possible at first

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Today’s forecast: Hot and mostly dry weather will prevail again today with high temperatures reaching the low 90s. We are expected to stay well below the record high of 96°, but will still be nearly 10 degrees above normal for early May.

Another scorcher

Thursday will bring another day of scorching May heat as we await the arrival of our next cool front. Highs will be in the low to mid 90s, with mostly dry conditions expected throughout the day. The wind will be slightly lighter than the last few days, adding to the summery feeling.

Danger of severe weather

The Storm Prediction Center continues to report a Level 2/5 (Minor) severe weather risk near and north of the highways, with the peak threat expected Thursday night into the early hours of Friday.

The danger is still somewhat uncertain and there is a chance that the storms will remain a little further north, but we need to keep a close eye on the trends. If strong storms develop, damaging winds, hail and isolated tornadoes are possible.

Heat relief comes on Friday

Any storm threat will end early Friday morning as a cool front moves into the Gulf of Mexico. This front will also bring some cooler air, causing temperatures to return to near-normal levels by the weekend. The weather forecast also keeps our area dry from Friday morning through at least Saturday.

Unclear pattern next week

Uncertainty returns to the forecast on Sunday, with newer model runs trending slightly wetter for the second half of the weekend. If you have outdoor plans for Mother’s Day, keep an eye on the weather forecast. We have a little more confidence that an unclear pattern could emerge for much of next week.

Rainfall amounts

The latest 7-day forecast from the Weather Prediction Center shows average rain amounts of 1.5 to 3.0 inches across our area through next Wednesday morning, with locally higher amounts possible.

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