After the flooding rains yesterday and last night we are expecting and extended period of lower rain chances and hotter temperatures as a strong summer ridge of high pressure develops across the region. Widely scattered late afternoon showers and a few storms will be possible in this pattern this weekend with activity most likely to develop over the eastern part of the state and then drift westward during the afternoon/evening hours. Rain chances will generally be 20% or less but could increase slightly Monday/Tuesday as a weak tropical wave will rotate around the upper ridge. Expect highs to reach into the lower 90s Saturday and Sunday lowering to near 90 into next week. Meanwhile our overnight lows will stay quite steamy with mid-upper 70s this weekend and low-mid 70s, perhaps even a little cooler mid-next week. Rain chances after Monday will stay slight until later in the week when deeper tropical moisture could rebuild over the region.
I received an email from a viewer last week inquiring about determining the location of the “blue” (or clear) water off of the Louisiana Coast. While there is no definitive information that I could find on the web, I did come across some great MODIS Satellite Imagery that generates high resolution 250 meter imagery. This satellite pictures will also integrate into your Google Earth, but you can only download the highest resolution imagery online. This satellite imagery is generated by NASA’s Polar Orbiter which flies much lower (a few hundred miles up) than the typical geostationary satellites that are parked roughly 20,000 miles above the earth. The result is only a couple of decent overpasses during the day with patches of missing data possible each day. Check it out though as you can really see the sandy/muddy effluent along our coast, and you’ll know how far out you need to go on that next deep sea fishing trip! Have a great weekend and try to stay cool!