Louisiana’s ‘Fake Spring’ Ends Today – How Cold Will it Get?

As you look through the flora and fauna of Louisiana's natural beauty you can see it if you look closely enough. It's one of Mother Nature's greatest "tricks". It's the art of deception. You might notice butterflies as they flutter about a rice field in Acadia Parish have wings that make it look as if they have eyes on the backs of their heads. Or perhaps it's an owl you can hear in a tree in St Landry Parish, but you can't see him because he blends into the background so well.

Yes, nature is all about trickery and Louisiana residents who may have been lulled into a false sense of springlike weather are about to get a cold slap in the face, almost literally. Yeah, the "fake spring" that the groundhog foretold and that a lot of us believed in because it was darn near 80 degrees over the weekend is coming to an end.

The good news for Louisiana and the Gulf South is that it appears as if March will not be coming in like a lion here. Most of the really nasty weather, severe storms, tornadoes, flooding rains, et al, are staying well to the north of Louisiana. However, the colder air behind the storm system will drop temperatures and bring about another issue for Louisiana residents to be concerned with.

Yesterday winds were howling out of the south across most of Louisiana. Today a cold front will push across Louisiana. Forecasters with the National Weather Service Office in Lake Charles anticipate frontal passage sometime between Noon and car pick-up time at school.

As the front is moving through there will be a 30%-40% chance of a passing shower. Severe storms are not expected nor are heavy downpours. But behind the frontal system, the winds will swing around 180 degrees and begin to blow from the north.

Forecasters say wind gusts of 30 mph won't be uncommon and those winds combined with the rather dry conditions across the state will elevate the risk and danger of wildfires. Smokers are reminded to be extra cautious with cigarette butts and anyone considering doing any outside burning of brush might really want to wait until Friday to do that.

Will The Temperature Drop Below Freezing in Louisiana?

It will but not anytime soon. We are most likely done with any temperatures dropping below 32 degrees in Louisiana. There may be some locations along I-20 or north of it that could still get a frost but the I-10 corridor should be frost-free until next fall or winter.

It will be much colder as temperatures drop during the afternoon hours today. The overnight low will fall to the upper 40s and Thursday's high temperature will struggle to reach 60 degrees.

Also moving into the area late in the day on Thursday is a good chance of showers and storms. Rain chances Thursday night are expected to climb to 60% for the nighttime hours and stay rather high as we move into Friday morning.

Your weekend forecast includes a chance of showers and temperatures returning to the upper 70s by Sunday afternoon. We can expect more storms to start the next workweek as we look ahead.

And since it's springtime, you might as well start getting ready for these guys.