Tropical Downpours Likely Today

They won't last long. They might contain some thunder and lightning. They are kind of what we are used to during the warm weather months in South Louisiana. The only difference between today's forecast and the typical forecast of a scattered afternoon shower or thunderstorm is this. Today, thunderstorms will be more numerous.

The reason for the greater rain chances today is a weak upper-level low-pressure system. It should slowly creep across southern Louisiana into the eastern part of the state by later today. It will bring copious amounts of moisture with it as it moves slowly to the east.

The Storm Prediction Center is not forecasting a severe weather event for the area. In fact, the biggest issue we might face is heavy rain. It's not the kind of heavy rain that will cause major flooding but the kind of rain that comes all at once, lasts a few minutes, then it's over.

Your best chances to see rain and thunderstorms will come during the middle part of the day although the current radar scan from the National Weather Service in Lake Charles is already showing significant precipitation in the Gulf of Mexico streaming in a northerly direction toward the coast.

By Tuesday the rain chances will drop to a typical 30%-40% chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms. You can expect those kinds of rain chances to be in the forecast for the rest of the work week into the weekend.