Louisiana Storm Threat Grows as ‘Cold Front’ Pushes Into State

Viewers of KSLA Television in Shreveport witnessed a rather strange event during the television station's noon broadcast on Wednesday. It was on that broadcast that a man with unusually high hair uttered two words that just don't make sense in Louisiana during the month of July. I actually saw this with my own eyes and heard Austin Evans, that's the high hair guy, say the words "Cold Front".

And now, despite his dashing good looks accented by an elegant bowtie, I don't think Austin Evans was misleading his viewers. There is a cold front moving into and through Louisiana right smack dab in the middle of July. And no, you won't need a jacket.

Of course, a cold front in July is like a wedding in Alabama, everything is relative. So, no Louisiana will not be seeing frost and gumbo pots arriving over the next few days. But what many of us, especially in northern and central Louisiana will experience is a bit of a break from the tremendous heat.

According to the National Weather Service, the front should push well into southern Louisiana over the next day or so. That will kick off a better-than-average threat of showers and storms across the region. It will also mean that temperatures and more importantly heat indices will be five to ten degrees cooler.

For example, the NWS forecast office in Lake Charles is forecasting high temperatures along the I-10 corridor in southwestern Louisiana to be 90 to 93 degrees with a heat index of 103 to 108.  Friday's forecast calls for high temperatures ranging from 86 to only 90 with heat indices only 95 to 102. Yes, that's still hot. But as we mentioned it's all relative, right?

The Storm Prediction Center is not projecting severe weather across Louisiana with this system but some of the thunderstorms could be strong. In fact, if you check the current scan of the NWS radar you can see where some of the bigger storms are and where they are heading.

Rain and thunderstorm chances will remain very high, 80%-90% for much of South Louisiana through the weekend. That will also help to keep the temperatures down and the heat index out of triple digits. So, enjoy the "cooler" weather but be mindful of approaching showers and thunderstorms.

Although the outlook for severe storms is minimal at this time, some storms could produce heavy downpours, frequent lightning, and gusty winds over the next several days. Then after they pass we'll have to deal with humidity and standing water and y'all know what that means.