The Farmer's Forecast: A Balanced Weather Pattern Ahead

By Nick Mikulas

Louisiana Farm Bureau News/Cenla Weather

The latest crop report shows loads of good news, with most everything close to 5 year averages, or ahead of schedule. It looks like more good weather is on the way. By that, I mean there will be some rain, and some dry, as things try to stay pretty balanced across Louisiana. Here’s how I see things going through the middle of next week. 

First off, the warmth is here, and it looks like it’s here to stay. We’ll still see a couple of “cold” fronts before we really shift into summer mode, but the cold fronts are going to lose their punch. This will also cause the highest threat for severe weather to move further north. I’m not closing the book on the severe season by any stretch, but climatologically, the highest, most concentrated threat is moving north. Any rain through the weekend should remain scattered, and not terribly heavy. Many of you won’t see any at all through Sunday. Things perk up late Sunday into Monday, with widespread rain and thunderstorms, especially north of I-10. Rain totals through the middle of next week range from hardly anything along the coast, to 3+ inches north of I-20. I’ve attached that rainfall map below that covers us through next Wednesday so you can get a feel for what you should expect. I also think there will be at least a low threat for some severe storms on Monday, but the best ingredients for severe weather will stay north. 

I do want to add a mention about the tropical season. I’ll be doing this quite a bit in the coming weeks and months, as conditions look favorable for a very active season. I know you can’t prepare for every potential outcome, but I want you to know that the threat for a Louisiana impact this tropical season is a good bit higher than average. That absolutely doesn’t mean we will definitely see problems, but it’s good to get those longer term preparations going soon. If you need to work on generators, or get a new one, it’s better to make that happen when you aren’t in a mad rush to get everything else done. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll update things should we see any major changes.