Weather Service: Rare Forecast a Concern for Louisiana Mardi Gras

The National Weather Service Forecast Office in Lake Charles has some really great news for Mardi Gras revelers in Youngsville, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Mamou, Baton Rouge, and in fact, all of South Louisiana for the next few days. However, their outlook takes a very serious turn, especially regarding Mardi Gras Day. 

If you're planning on attending a parade or chasing chickens or even throwing beads from a float anytime between now and Lundi Gras, that's Monday for those of you "ain't from around here", we're going to suggest you bring and use copious amounts of sunscreen.

The outlook, other than for some fog and clouds today, should be sunny and very conducive for Mardi Gras revelry on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Even Monday looks to be pretty good as far as the forecast is concerned. The weekend should be mostly sunny with high temperatures in the 70s. If you're attending a night parade the overnight low temperatures won't be that bad either. But you'll probably want a jacket just to be on the safe side.

As you can see from the above graphic provided by the NWS Office in Lake Charles things look great until we get to Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras Day. That's when the "rare" part of the Weather Service Outlook comes into play.

The Storm Prediction Center is the wing of the Weather Service that forecasts severe weather across the country. They usually don't issue severe weather forecasts more than a day or so out because of inaccuracies in long-range forecasting. However, the SPC has done something that I have rarely seen them do.

They have posted a potential severe weather threat for much of Louisiana on Mardi Gras. While the threat of severe storms during March is not rare, the fact that the SPC is taking the initiative to publish a potential severe storm threat this many days out is a bit on the unprecedented side.

Forecast models for next week do show a significant storm system moving into and through Louisiana on Mardi Gras and yes, those models suggest strong to severe storms too. This is a fluid situation and there will be significant changes made to the forecast between the time you read this and Mardi Gras day.

Our cautionary tale is simply this, enjoy the weekend, enjoy Lundi Gras. Double-check the forecast before you head to the parade routes on Tuesday.