St. Patrick's Day
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SW Louisiana Forecast Discussion...I am virtually on cruise control here! The mid-month tranquility continues on this Thursday evening, and surely the luck of the Irish was with us today. We will continue to be lucky with respect to the weather for the foreseeable future. After some morning low clouds and patchy fog, it was surely a decent day with a mix of sun and clouds as expected. It was more humid, but an onshore breeze kept it pleasant. Afternoon highs reached the mid to upper 70s, and this came on the heels of morning lows in the lower 60s for most of the area. The quiet spell continues tonight with a beautiful evening for talking a walk or whatever you wanna do. Overnight expect Mostly Clear to Partly Cloudy skies with some Patchy Fog and the re-development of low clouds after midnight. Mild overnight lows are on tap once more with temps generally close to 60 in response to the continued onshore flow and increasing dew points. Friday will be a day that features more of the same. A mild start will give way to another unseasonably, but comfortably mild afternoon. A general mix of sun and clouds will prevail after the morning low clouds and/or patchy fog dissipates around mid-morning. Expect afternoon highs to reach the upper 70s to around 80 for most locales with the exception of the immediate coast where temps will hold closer to 70 because of the usual marine influences.
The weekend will be a winner with a continuation of the dry and mild weather. The mornings will once again feature the patchy fog and/or low clouds scenario. A general sun and clouds mix will exist from the late morning to late afternoon hours. It will be on the humid side as the Southerly flow prevails. The forecast area will remain on the Western edge of a large anti-cyclone over the SE U.S. Ridging also exists in the mid and upper levels. The high acts as a blocking mechanism keeping the Jet Stream locked in place well to our North. All storm systems entering the country through the Pacific Northwest will continue to bypass this region through the weekend. Our only effects locally will be breezy conditions with the prevailing onshore flow. Winds will increase slightly from Saturday into Sunday. Temperatures will be fairly uniform with lows in the upper 50s to lower 60s on average while afternoon highs reach the upper 70s to around 80. Take advantage of the niceness, get out there and do something fun. It looks great for the many outdoor activities that are planned this weekend across beautiful SW Louisiana including the Rabbit Festival in Iowa and the Home Show at the Lake Charles Civic Center. Should be a good weekend out on the water as well, maybe a little cool to swim in it but certainly warm enough to be comfortable on the open waters. Spring officially begins Sunday evening.
Subtle changes are lined up for the early stages of next week. Dry weather will continue for Monday and Tuesday with all large scale weather systems remaining away from this area. The deep flow of Gulf air will continue to be transported over the region thanks to the stiff onshore flow. The controlling anti-cyclone will slowly nudge further Eastward. A Pacific trough and attendant cold front will slowly be approaching the forecast area as the week progresses. The same temperature regime will rule the roost early next week with virtually no change in the synoptic pattern. The chances for late night/early morning patchy fog and/or low clouds will also linger. The pattern will change just enough at mid-week to allow the tail end of a Pacific cold front to move through. The overall pattern will keep the main thrust of the associated energy well away from SW Louisiana, but there should be enough lifting in place for some showers in the pre-frontal environment on Wednesday. At this point, it appears as though this will not be a favorable set up for a widespread rain event that would help alleviate the persistent drought conditions, nor will it be a Spring severe weather outbreak for this region. We do need the rainfall, so hopefully as we get closer to the middle of next week we can raise these rain chances a bit. Temperatures will continue their period of above normalcy through mid-week. The front will fly on by Wednesday afternoon, and flush the muggies out to sea as it moves into the coastal waters. Nice Spring weather is on tap for the end of the forecast period on Thursday. Temperatures will drop to near or just slightly below normal with highs back to around 70 while lows drop down into the 50s, quite comfortable especially with a refreshing North breeze behind the front. High pressure should control the weather for the end of next week into the following weekend, thus the overall quiet pattern will hang around for the foreseeable future.
Preliminary Numbers & Zone Forecast:
LCH 61/79 57/78 56/78 0 0 0 0 0 0
LFT 60/80 57/78 56/79 0 0 0 0 0 0
BPT 62/81 59/79 57/80 0 0 0 0 0 0
AEX 55/80 53/81 54/81 0 0 0 0 0 0
POE 55/80 53/81 54/81 0 0 0 0 0 0
ARA 61/78 58/78 58/77 0 0 0 0 0 0
Tonight...Mostly Clear before midnight w/ Patchy Fog and/or Low Clouds developing in the pre-dawn hours. Low 61. Light SSE wind.
Friday...Patchy Fog early, otherwise Partly Cloudy. High 79. SSE wind 10-15 mph.
Friday Night...Mostly Clear to Partly Cloudy before midnight. Patchy Fog and/or Low Clouds developing after midnight. Low 57. Light SSE wind.
Saturday...Patchy Fog early, otherwise generally Partly Cloudy w/ Mostly Sunny intervals. High 78. SSW wind 15 mph.
Saturday Night...Mostly Clear early w/ Patchy Fog developing overnight. Low 56. Light South wind.
Sunday...Patchy Fog until mid-morning, otherwise Partly Cloudy. High 78. SSW wind 15-20 mph and gusty.
Friday 3/18/11 Daily Planner
6a.m.
Weather: Mostly Cloudy
Temp: 62
Rain: 0%
Wind: S 1
9a.m.
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Temp: 66
Rain: 0%
Wind: SSE 6
Noon
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Temp: 73
Rain: 0%
Wind: SSE 12
3p.m.
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Temp: 78
Rain: 0%
Wind: SSE 15
6p.m.
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Temp: 75
Rain: 0%
Wind: SSE 11
9p.m.
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Temp: 68
Rain: 0%
Wind: SSE 7
Drew's 7 Day Outlook
Friday
3-18-11
Low: 61
High: 79
Rain: 0%
Wind: SSE 10-15
Saturday
3-19-11
High: 78
Rain: 0%
Wind: SSW 15
Sunday
3-20-11
Vernal Equinox
Low: 56
High: 78
Rain: 0%
Wind: SSW 15-20
Monday
3-21-11
Low: 58
High: 80
Rain: 0%
Wind: SSW 15-20
Tuesday
3-22-11
Low: 61
High: 80
Rain: 0%
Wind: S 15-20
Wednesday
3-23-11
Low: 65
High: 81
Rain: 20%
Wind: SSW 15-20
Thursday
3-24-11
Low: 54
High: 75
Rain: 0%
Wind: NNW 10-15
...Marine Forecast...
Tonight...South winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Areas of dense fog.
Friday...South winds around 10 knots. Seas 2 feet. Areas of dense fog in the morning.
Friday Night...Southeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Patchy fog after midnight.
Saturday...Southeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 2 feet. Patchy fog early in the morning.
Saturday Night...Southeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 feet. Patchy fog after midnight.
Sunday...Southeast winds 5 to 10 knots increasing to 10 to 15 knots in the afternoon. Seas 2 feet. Patchy fog in the morning.
...Tide Data...
Friday Tides @ Calcasieu Pass:
Low: 8:34a.m. 8:56p.m.
High: 1:41a.m. 2:59p.m.
...Toledo Bend Pool Level...
164.55'
...Lake Charles Climate Summary...
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Low: 56
Normal Low: 51
Record Low: 29-1913
High: 78
Normal High: 72
Record High: 84-1982
Rainfall
Today: 0.00"
Month to Date: 3.91"
Normal Month to Date: 1.94"
Year to Date: 10.57"
Normal Year to Date: 10.74"
Record: 3.60"- 1987
Significant Weather Observed:
Fog
One Year Ago (2010)
Low: 49
High: 71
Rain: 0.00"
5 Years Ago (2006)
Low: 64
High: 80
Rain: 0.00"
10 Years Ago (2001)
Low: 47
High: 56
Rain: 0.00"
Sunrise Friday: 7:19a.m.
Sunset Friday: 7:23p.m.
Hunting Times:
6:49a.m.-7:53p.m.
...Lunar Table...
Full Moon- Saturday March 19
Last Quarter- Saturday March 26
New Moon- Sunday April 3
First Quarter- Monday April 11
Have a great Friday! God Bless!
-DM
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