The National Weather Service has issued a FLOOD WATCH for East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Ascension, Assumption, Iberville, East Feliciana, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, St. James, Tangipahoa, and West Feliciana Parishes, as well as Amite and Wilkinson Counties, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Today & Tonight: We are looking at a relatively calm start this morning, though keep an eye out for some patchy fog early on. Rain prospects will climb steadily through the day as a line of storms pushes toward the Capital Area. We could see the first rounds of showers and thunderstorms arriving by mid-morning, with the activity becoming much more numerous as we head into the afternoon. About 80% of the Capital Region is in line for a soaking, with the highest likelihood coming during the PM hours. Temperatures could top out in the mid-80s, though afternoon highs will ultimately depend on exactly when the rain moves in.
Because there is a lot of moisture to work with, Wednesday’s storms are going to be capable of dumping high rain amounts in a short window. The most intense downpours could produce 1 to 3 inches of rain per hour, which is enough to easily trigger localized street flooding. Use caution if you are out on the roads, especially later on today. Remember to never drive through flooded roadways or navigate around barricades—it takes surprisingly little water to stall out your vehicle.
Once the sun goes down, we will lose our daytime heating, causing the storm threat to rapidly diminish. Expect overnight lows to settle in the lower 70s under mostly cloudy skies…