Spring Arrives In Acadiana Later Today

Another dreary cold winter is just about to become a memory. Pretty soon sundresses, short pants, t-shirts, and allergies will be all the rage around South Louisiana. Spring officially arrives today at 5:45 pm.

Looking forward into the warmer months State Climatologist Barry Keim says Louisiana can expect some changes. He told the Louisiana Radio Network.

"But looking forward, the Climate Prediction Center is calling for normal temperatures, and above normal precipitation which will be a real change from what we've experienced over the last few months,"

What is going to be the catalyst for the increased precipitation over the next few months? It's our old friend from Hurricane Season, El Nino.

"El Nino's tend to lead to more frontal rain in spring across the state of Louisiana,. But could also lead to more severe rains and some of the biggest floods we've had on some of the small rivers in Louisiana."

While the past several weeks in South Louisiana have certainly been on the wet side, the winter months state wide have been drier than usual. Keim says with El Nino in place there shouldn't be any issues regarding a lack of rainfall over the spring season. In fact, the hope is that El Nino conditions might stick around through the summer months since that condition helps to mitigate the formation of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico.

Filed Under: el nino, spring

Categories: Hurricane Season, Local News, Weather