Weather Service Confirms Damaging Wind, Hail Risk For Louisiana

(KMDL-FM) Depending on where you put your head on your pillow in Louisiana last night, it will determine whether your night was quiet or a bit bumpy. Louisiana has been a "tale of two states" as far as the weather is concerned for the past 12 hours or so. North Louisiana has had stormy conditions, while southern Louisiana has been quiet. That will change as the inclement weather spreads southward across Louisiana today.

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Based on the latest forecast information from the National Weather Service, the next several hours and days will bring a threat of severe storms, flooding rains, damaging winds, and even damaging hail. Of course, the tricky part of the forecast is when all of this will happen and where in Louisiana it is most likely to happen.

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What Are Louisiana's Biggest Weather Risks This Week?

The National Weather Service Forecast Office in Lake Charles has divided the threats for South Louisiana into three categories. There is a damaging winds risk, a tornado risk, and the risk of hail. How big is that risk for where you live? Here's a graphic that should explain that quite nicely for you.

As you can see in the graphic above, forecasters aren't as concerned with the potential for tornadoes along the I-10 corridor as they are with hail and damaging winds. You'll note the time frame forecasters have placed on this severe weather potential.

Stormy Weather Could Interrupt After-School Pick-Up in Louisiana Today

It does appear as though the most likely time for your day to be interrupted by Mother Nature will be between 2 this afternoon and 8 this evening. But there is still one element of the forecast that remains rather puzzling.

Rain chances across the area are not that high at all. In fact, the graphic you see below illustrates where the greatest risk of rain will be. And for today and Thursday, that risk is along and north of US 190. However, by Friday afternoon, the risk of more significant rain drops further south to cities such as Lake Charles, Lafayette, and Baton Rouge.

The current speculation of the forecast prognostication suggests that for this weekend's Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, Friday night and early Saturday might be a little dicey, but after Noon on Saturday, things should improve greatly.

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We should note that it will become considerably cooler late Friday into Saturday. Temperatures on Saturday morning should be in the middle 50s, which is about 20 degrees cooler than what we are experiencing this morning.

Afternoon high temperatures will be in the 70s on both Saturday and Sunday, and the humidity levels will be down as well. So, except for some storms on Friday night, your festival weekend should be wonderful. It should be a great weekend to enjoy some ice cream outside. Have you tried these flavors?