Periods of rain and thunderstorms along with a good soaking are expected Thursday, with winter temperatures to return to Acadiana for the afternoon.
After a balmy Wednesday afternoon with temperatures in the mid-70s, expect readings to be some 30° colder for the same time Thursday afternoon, and likely near the freezing mark for Friday morning.
In the near term, scattered showers and some thunderstorms are expected to develop after 9 to 10 pm while temperatures hold in the mid-60s.
And with the mild temperatures overnight, there might be the risk of some fog moving in after the initial round of shower activity.
Thursday will start off mild with the chance of showers and storms increasing mid-morning as a strong front rips through the area.
Periods of rain and even the chance of some embedded thunder behind the front will be likely from the afternoon into the evening as colder air pours into the region.
Per the Storm Prediction Center, there is a marginal risk of an isolated severe storm or two from Acadiana eastward Thursday.
In most cases it appears that the shallow colder air may outrun some of the storm dynamics in Acadiana's, but gusty winds and some small hail will be possible primarily during the morning hours.
The greatest risk of any severe weather in Acadiana should any storm get out of hand, would be across St Martin, Iberia and St Mary parishes.
Temperatures Thursday will start out in the upper 60s to near 70° but will begin to drop smartly midday with readings likely dipping into the mid-40s by the afternoon commute..wind chills will be in the 30s, so don't forget the heavier jackets/coats before leaving home in the morning!
Periods of rain will likely last well into Thursday night but are expected to taper as temperatures close in on the freezing mark Friday morning.
While big snows and ice will be major issues well north of Acadiana, we can expect a solid soaking locally with up to an inch a decent bet...isolated higher amounts will be likely from Eastern Acadiana eastward.
No significant winter precipitation is expected for Acadiana, but farther to the north from Northeast Texas into Arkansas there will be significant snows and ice.
Therefore, expect major airport delays and possible closures especially in Dallas and Memphis!
Some delays will also be possible at IAH in Houston, but we are not expecting much winter weather there.
After the weather excitement Thursday it will be a cold forecast for Acadiana with lingering clouds holding our temperatures mostly in the 30s Friday after a start near freezing.
Wind chills Friday will be mostly in the lower 20s Friday morning.
Skies should clear Friday night with temperatures dropping into the mid-upper 20s Saturday morning...just above the hard-freeze, pipe-busting zone.
At least we'll see lots of sunshine this weekend with highs near 50° Saturday and a few degrees milder Sunday, while overnight lows range in the upper 20s to lower 30s.
Thereafter, the rest of next week looks seasonably cool and dry...and it looks like it will be at least 10 days before we see 70° temperatures again.
See the KATC 10 Day Forecastfor the latest.
And if our longer range models are close to right, we may see another round of cold, arctic air arriving mid-month...and hopefully t will not be a repeat of last year's mid-February deep freeze.
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