KATC StormTeam 3 Weather BLOG

As Dave indicated in our previous weather blog entry, finally some storms ending 25 days of no rain and in Lafayette.  A frontal trough finally busted through the area this afternoon allowing for a very healthy scattering of showers and thunderstorms across the region this afternoon.  Many areas saw better than one half an inch of rainfall that was quickly absorbed into the ground.  A few isolated spots not only saw a couple of inches of rain (in about 30-45 minutes) but there were some isolated reports of damaging winds in northern Vermilion and northwestern Iberia Parishes.  Winds gusts were clocked at 62mph at Acadiana Regional Airport at 5:25pm this afternoon.  Activity was weakening significantly as of 700pm this evening and will continue to dissipate deeper into the evening hours.  Unfortunately it looks like drier air will try to filter into the region for tomorrow with our rain chances going down as well.  Fortunately though it shouldn’t be quite as hot tomorrow with highs closer to the mid-upper 90s.  In fact, today Lafayette and New Iberia set more records for heat with a high of 101 in Lafayette toppling another dust bowl record of 100 set in 1930…it was 100 degrees this afternoon in New Iberia.  That makes 12 straight days of 97-102 degree heat.   Interestingly enough, I am working on the statistics for this June and it looks like it will be in the top 5 of hottest on record…more on that in the days to come.  Relative hot and dry conditions will continue Tuesday through Thursday with at best slight rain chances and highs in the mid-upper 90s.  Friday into the weekend should bring better sea-breeze induced scattered showers and thunderstorms for the afternoon hours so at least we shouldn’t be quite as hot with highs pushing closer to the low-mid 90s.  Afternoon rain chances should stay with us into early next week but the longer range projections are indicating the hot high pressure ridge will become re-established which may very well bring back triple digit highs later next week…we’ll see.  In the near term, a little break today and a few in the next week so enjoy…it may not stay for very long.  Rob