KATC StormTeam 3 Weather BLOG

A Tornado Watch has been issued for a good part of Central and Northern Louisiana through 100am Thursday morning.  A fairly strong squall line has been developing this afternoon across Central and Northeastern Texas with increasing jet-stream dynamics and a surface frontal boundary advancing eastward tonight.  As we have previously mentioned, the greatest threat of severe weather will be in the northern part of the state tonight but strong wind dynamics aloft will keep the storms rather intense through tomorrow morning.  Additional weather watches are possible later tonight for Acadiana so we’ll be watching this closely so keep it tuned to KATC overnight.  Tonight’s round of storms will likely be the first of three severe weather opportunities for Acadiana.  The primary mode of severe weather, if we see it tonight, would be in the form of wind damage and hail, but isolated tornadic storms may be possible.  The bulk of the strongest storms will advance to the coast by tomorrow morning and should weaken toward daybreak.  But like today’s front it will drift back  northward tomorrow afternoon.  The atmosphere is projected to be quite unstable tomorrow into tomorrow night but we could see some limited sunshine and relatively quiet conditions during the day.  Showers and storms will likely fire-up again by late tomorrow afternoon into tomorrow evening with high rain chances persisting through tomorrow night.  There will probably be some risk of severe storms tomorrow evening with the threat look more tornadic.  Finally a strong front will push through the area by Friday night with sunshine and very warm conditions anticipated early Friday, but a squall line will likely develop just to the west of Acadiana Friday afternoon.  I am going for high rain chances but the threat of severe weather may form either over us or to the east, but the dynamics look way to juicy to go with what the models are indicating which is not much more than 40-50% for Friday.  So there may be a severe weather risk Friday with the main threat damaging winds, but hail and isolated tornadoes will still be possible.  Per previous blog entries, we will likely receive several inches of rain with very heavy, perhaps flooding rainfall, possible across the northern and eastern part of the state into Mississippi and Alabama where Flood Watches have already been posted.  Temperature-wise expect warm conditions, perhaps very warm conditions Friday with highs in the low-mid 80s, but it may seem more like winter this weekend with highs struggling for 60 Saturday and the mid-upper 60s Sunday.  Overnight lows could dip into the upper 30s to lower 40s this weekend.  Warmer conditions will return next week with another round of active weather possible by next Wednesday.  Rob