FIRST ALERT FORECAST: Cloudy, blustery and cold through the day

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - Rain has moved out of the area this morning and we’re left with blustery and colder conditions this morning with temperatures calling through the 40s and a bit of a wind chill on top of that. While some spots could seek a peek or two of sunshine right at sunrise, clouds will quickly build back in through the day, limiting the warm-up to highs in the upper 40s to lower 50s. Winds will remain rather gusty as well which will mean a coat day all day.

Our evening will stay rather chilly as clouds will be slow to clear out tonight and breezes will stay in place. Temperatures overnight drop into the middle to upper 30s across Southwest Louisiana by Friday morning. Friday will at least bring back the return of some sunshine but we will stay on the chilly side through the day tomorrow with highs in the lower 50s. Friday night looks to be even colder as lows drop closer to freezing.

Heading into the weekend, we’ll get quite a bit of sunshine for Saturday which will be the better of our two weekend days. Highs stay cool with temperatures topping out in the lower 50s with lows back into the 30s overnight. Things get interesting on Sunday with various model output showing a low tracking along the Gulf Coast with increasing rain chances by Sunday evening and possibly lingering into the first part of Monday.

The question still remains if any wintry weather will be in the mix for Southwest Louisiana. As of this morning, it’s looking like we may not be quite cold enough for anything but rain here locally but we will continue to monitor things closely and update the forecast if anything changes. Slightly better chances of a wintry changeover for northern and central Louisiana looks to be possible by Sunday night into early Monday morning as models continue to advertise, so some weight must be given to these chances. Keep in mind, winter weather in Louisiana is a rarity and everything must come together in the atmosphere exactly right for it to happen. With that said, we’re still 3 to 4 days out so forecast confidence remains low.

First Alert Meteorologist Ben Terry

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