The Farmer's Forecast: More Rain Thursday through Saturday
By Nick Mikulas
The National Hurricane Center has highlighted an area of potential tropical development near the northern Gulf Coast. I don’t think it will develop, but I do expect elevated rain chances from Thursday through Saturday across Louisiana. The highest rain chances and amounts will be in the southern half of the state, but I think everyone will see at least some rain by the time the weekend is over.
It’s been a hot few days across Louisiana, with many areas closing in on 100 degrees. The elevated rain chances will knock us back down into the low 90s, and provide some brief bouts of cooler weather in the afternoon near thunderstorms. Of course, when the sun comes back out, that brief break will turn into relentless humidity. I expect 2-5 inches of rain near I-10 and points south. North of that, most will see 1-3 inches, with lower totals possible along and north of I-20. Rainfall distribution can be tough to forecast this time of year, and as you know, these totals will vary widely over short distances. The good news is, I don’t see this developing into a named storm. Even if it did, I don’t think it would change the forecast very much.
Looking into the longer range, it looks like another pulse of moisture will move through around Wednesday or Thursday of next week, and that should perk rain chances back up. I’ll be watching it all, and will update if I see anything out of the ordinary!