Weather Blog

Dave Nussbaum
dnussbaum@wbrz.com

Short Term:  It is another warm and muggy morning across the Baton Rouge area.  The skies are partly cloudy, and there are some areas of fog.  Visibilities are less than 3 miles in a few place, so be careful as you head out the door.

The very warm temperatures will continue this afternoon.  The skies will be partly cloudy as easterly winds continue to usher in the warm and humid air.  They are circulating around an area of high pressure that is still sitting over eastern Tennessee.  These winds are also causing some minor coastal flooding along the Lakes.  There is a small chance we could see a stray shower because of the very warm and humid air.  High temperatures will climb to the upper 80s. 

Tonight, the clouds will stick around, and we could have some fog developing again.  Lows will drop to near 70. 

Rest of the Week:  The cold front that is located across the Great Plains will finally start moving to the east on Thursday.  It will send isolated showers toward the Baton Rouge area along with partly sunny skies.  Temperatures will be a few degrees cooler due to the clouds and rain.  Highs will only get into the mid 80s. 

The cold front will move through south Louisiana on Friday.  Scattered showers and thunderstorms will sweep across the state, and some cooler weather will follow the storms.  High temperatures will only be around 80.  Significantly cooler temperatures will greet us Friday night as the mercury falls into the mid 50s! 

Weekend Outlook:  Finally it looks like Fall will return to the Baton Rouge area!  The weather will be gorgeous all weekend with plenty of sunny skies, and cool temperatures.  Highs will only be in the upper 70s with lows in the mid 50s.  How nice is this for the weekend?!? 

Tropical Update:  Omar is now Hurricane Omar as it sits in the eastern Caribbean.  It is located about 285 miles SSW of San Juan, Puerto Rico.  Winds are near 75 mph, and the hurricane is forecast to get even stronger.  Omar is moving to the NE near 7 mph.  It will make landfall along the U.S. and British Virgin Islands as a Category 2 hurricane tomorrow.  Then it will track out into the open Atlantic.  The pressure is down to 985 mb. 

Tropical Depression # 16 is located about 95 miles east of Limon, Honduras.  Winds are sustained around 30 mph, and further strengthening is expected.  This system could become a tropical storm later today, and it would get the name Paloma.  Its track will take it along the Honduras coast over the next few days.  The central pressure is about 1001 mb. 

Elsewhere. . .tropical cyclone formation is not expected through Thursday.

Here are some useful tropical weather links for you to keep up-to-date with the latest tropical systems:

• National Hurricane Center
• Skeetobite Weather
• Wunderground Tropical Weather
• Gulf of Mexico Sea Surface Temperatures
• Forecast Models from Colorado State University
• Forecast Models from Tropical Atlantic.com

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