NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – After a stormy Thursday thanks to the remnants of Arthur we’ve seen a major change for Friday. The moisture left behind by the flooding rains is fueling an incredibly humid air mass. Step outside this afternoon and the air hits you like a wall. A powerful ridge of high pressure locked over the central and northern Gulf is driving temperatures into the low to mid 90s across southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi, and with dewpoints sitting stubbornly in the upper 70s and lower 80s, heat index values are surging between 105 and 110 degrees. A Heat Advisory is in effect through 7 p.m. this evening, and forecasters say the danger is real. Do not leave people or pets in a closed vehicle, drink plenty of water, wear loose and light-colored clothing, and get into air conditioning whenever you can. Fans alone will not be enough on a day like today.
The weekend brings little relief and a new threat. Saturday carries the best rain chance of the stretch, but do not let that fool you into thinking the heat is breaking. A mesoscale convective system is expected to push south out of the ArkLaMiss region Saturday evening, tracking along a moisture boundary toward the coast. The biggest concerns with that complex will be damaging wind gusts and locally heavy rainfall falling on ground that is already saturated, raising the risk of flash flooding Saturday night. North of the Interstate 10 and 12 corridor, scattered storms are also possible Friday afternoon and Sunday, but coverage will be limited and the storms will be weaker as the ridge tightens its grip heading into Sunday and Monday…