The hurricane season ended Sunday and for the first time since 2015 a hurricane did not make landfall in the U.S. There were 13 named storms, five hurricanes and four major hurricanes. Colorado State research scientist Phil Klotzbach says atmospheric conditions protected the U.S.
Read MoreThere were two precipitation events during the 7-day monitoring period, both linked to frontal systems: the first on Nov 21-22 and a more significant event (particularly across northern Louisiana) on Nov 24-25
Read MoreA storm system currently centered in the Southern Plains will send a strong cold front through Louisiana on Tuesday. The SPC has posted a "Slight Risk" (2-out-of-5 on the threat scale) for severe storms in advance of the cold front for northern Louisiana. The primary threat window is from Monday afternoon into Monday night, ending early Tuesday morning.
Read MoreFor the 5th consecutive month, statewide-averaged rainfall was below the norm. While numerous northeast and southeast sites reported monthly totals of 4.00” to 6.00” or more, October’s statewide average was a modest 3.68”.
Read MoreRain has been a tough commodity statewide, with nothing in the last week, and most areas seeing less than half of our average over the last 30 days. That has brought some parts of Louisiana below normal for the last year and we’d been running a surplus for some time. That’s why parts of Louisiana are now in a severe drought, with 5% in that category, and 43% in moderate drought. There is some hope, though I tend to think models are a bit overdone on their current forecasts for rain. I’ll explain.
Read MoreAfter a rain-free 7-day stretch for Louisiana (Nov 12-18), today's updated U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) depiction for the Bayou State shows additional degradations with more than 40% of the state now posted as "in drought" (D1+D2).
Read MoreMost of the Bayou State didn’t receive any precipitation during the 7-day period; the exception was mainly over southeastern and south-central portions of the state during the frontal passage of Nov 8-9.
Read MoreLouisiana is nowhere near as dry (yet!) as the circumstances that developed during 2023 … but we are seeing some pockets of “critical” dryness in sections of the state. Note that the LA Drought Team introduced two areas of D2 (‘Severe Drought’) to the latest Weekly Drought Monitor. It’s the first time that any part of the state was tagged with D2 since late 2024.
Read MoreThere's a lot going on in the world of weather, so I wanted to update you on the things you probably already know, and add some things you might not know. First off, there's a freeze warning for most of the state Tuesday morning. I'm confident you all know that since you're very tuned into the weather, and this will be the first freeze of the year for some. The freeze warning gets way down south to Houma and Abbeville, but I think immediate coastal areas will stay above freezing. After that, we will see a quick warm up, with temperatures approaching 80 by Wednesday.
Read MoreIf the start to the work week was your rude awakening weather-wise, there will be more where that came from tomorrow morning. High temperatures today won’t get out of the 50s, and LSU Health Climatologist Barry Keim says it’ll be a little longer before this cold snap is over.
Read MoreIt seems like most of what I’ve been talking about for the last several weeks is how dry it’s going to be. I think that will change in a couple weeks. I also think we have our first widespread freeze over parts of Louisiana on Tuesday morning. Let’s take a look at what’s on the way!
Read MoreThere may officially be one month to go in the 2025 hurricane season, but State Climatologist Jay Grymes says for all intents and purposes, Louisiana will make it through this year unscathed.
Read MoreThe state experienced a slight reduction in drought coverage over the period of 22-28 October, largely due to rains during the past weekend (25-26 Oct).
Read MoreWe've had a large range of rainfall totals over the last week, with some areas along the I-20 corridor seeing less than an inch, and some parts of central and south Louisiana seeing 4+ inches of rain. This has knocked the moderate drought from 31% of the state to 18% of the state, but it looks like organized rain is about to shut back off for a bit.
Read MoreEven with a little rain in the forecast, conditions across Acadiana remain dangerously dry.
St. Landry, Acadia, and Evangeline Parishes are all under active burn bans as drought conditions persist across the region. Fire officials say gusty winds and low humidity are creating the perfect setup for fires to spread quickly, even from something as small as a spark.
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