FIRST ALERT FORECAST: A warmer start with a mild afternoon, rain returns late week

FIRST ALERT FORECAST: KPLC 7News at Noon - 12 p.m. - January 19, 2021

By Jacob Durham | January 19, 2021 at 3:20 AM CST - Updated January 19 at 12:25 PM

A much warmer start to the day, but a light jacket will be needed (Source: KPLC)

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - Off to a much milder start to the day as temperatures are in the middle 50′s for many locations as winds have turned more out of a southerly direction and that has brought back plenty of moisture. As we move into the afternoon we do see our highs warming a little more as we are back into the upper 60′s and lower 70′s.

Rain chances increase over the coming days (Source: KPLC)

Heading off to work and school this morning, a much more noticeable change as we are 15 to 20 degrees warmer this morning in comparison to where we started off our Monday at. You’ll still need a light jacket out there as it is a little cool, but you can keep the heavier coat in the closest as we are looking at a warm day ahead as we see a mixture of sun and clouds and that will allow us to warm a few more degrees this afternoon back into the upper 60′s and lower 70′s. A little muggier feel to the day will be around as well thanks to the winds bringing in moisture off the Gulf, but we do look to stay dry for at least one more day as high pressure is still close enough that it shields us from any showers or storms. Rain chances do begin to increase as we head into the next several days though as we are awaiting the arrival of the slow moving front.

Rain and storms look to move in heading into Friday (Source: KPLC)

Most of our Wednesday looks to stay dry as well as we don’t see a whole lot of rain moving in just yet as the front is still parked back across central portions of Texas and really the front will be in no hurry to arrive. Clouds will be around more during the day though and that will help to keep temperatures back into the middle and upper 60′s, but still for this time of year it’s not bad at all. Rain chances will be higher though as we move into Thursday and Friday as the front moves through and it will bring us the chance of showers and storms just about anytime during the day with highs back into the lower 70′s.

Rain totals remain on the lower end (Source: KPLC)

The front passes through on Friday night and into Saturday and that will help knock back our temperatures just a little for Saturday as we are into the lower and middle 60′s, but we don’t get a full clearing as we still have to deal with clouds and the chance for a few isolated showers especially as we head into Saturday night. Out of the two days this weekend Saturday looks to be the drier of the two at this point as yet another front moves into the region for Sunday kicking the rain chances up once again. Still time to iron out the details for the weekend, but for now enjoy the warmer and drier weather while it last.