Coldest Temperatures of the Season in Louisiana Sunday

(KMDL-FM) Do you think it's just a coincidence that Louisiana's temperatures just seem to plummet within days of setting the clocks back one hour? Do you think it gets colder just because the days are shorter? I guess the answers to those questions will be answered on Sunday when some of the coldest air of the fall season, so far, arrives in Louisiana.

No, this won't be a big chill like we experienced in January of this year in the Gulf South. Y'all remember all that snow, right? Well, that's not going to happen this weekend and probably won't happen for another decade or so, but hey, the Saints won the Super Bowl that one year, so stranger things have been known to happen.

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And while the temperatures for Sunday and the beginning of the new work week won't be anywhere near the freezing mark, at least along the I-10 corridor on Sunday, it will seem much colder because of what we will experience Thursday, Friday, and Saturday across the region.

The above graphic comes from the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Lake Charles. If you look at the high temperatures for Friday and Saturday in cities such as Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Opelousas, you will see forecast readings of 85 degrees. That's warm enough to get in the swimming pool at my house.

So, while our bodies get used to another shot of warm air on Friday and Saturday, the incoming cold air on Sunday will "feel" that much colder. Just like the time change, it takes our bodies a few days to adjust to big temperature swings, too.

When Will it Rain Next in Louisiana?

That is a very good question, and if you're attempting to keep your lawn or fall landscape thriving, then you'll want to plan on doing some watering.  That's because, based on the forecast models we've seen, Louisiana's best and only threat of showers will come on Friday afternoon with just a 20% chance of precipitation.

The graphic above is the most recent Louisiana Drought Monitor. The yellow shading and the beige shading indicate some of the driest areas of the state. Much of the parched prairie is right along and north of I-10 and near the US 190 corridor.

One of the longer-range forecast models we often look at suggests that if we don't see rain in Louisiana on Friday, it might not be until November 19th that the state will see its next chance of significant rainfall.

How Long Will Louisiana's Cold Snap Last?

By Monday, many locations in Central and Northern Louisiana will experience overnight low temperatures at or near the freezing mark. Residents along and south of I-10 should not dip below freezing, but we'll be close.

Temperatures will begin to moderate by Wednesday and Thursday of next week. By next weekend, the 15th and 16th, we should experience more seasonable temperature readings with afternoon highs in the upper 70s and overnight lows near 60.