LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) – The cold air is on the way to Southwest Louisiana as we get ready to track a winter storm.
Sunday marks day 1 of the cold snap with highs in the 40’s. No precipitation is expected, so any outdoor plans look good aside from the chill. You’ll want to have cold weather preps completed by Sunday night, because come Monday morning we’ll likely wake up to wind chills in the teens and temps in the 20’s! Remember the 4 P’s; People, Pets, Plants and Pipes. After that, we track the chance for winter weather.
The odds of winter precipitation continue to increase, although there is still some uncertainty. Unlike earlier, this uncertainty relates more to how much winter precipitation we will receive and the type, rather than will any occur. This has to do with the exact placement of a gulf low. Models agree it likely comes close enough to create winter precip and snow, but how close determines how much snow vs sleet/freezing rain we may see.
A track that were to hug the coast would create a greater amount of sleet with any snow, as the air above us could warm above freezing in that scenario. A track farther south could allow the air above our heads to remain colder and thus greater amounts of snow. This forecast leans toward the middle of the two, meaning some snow accumulation at the very least is currently expected.
Because of this risk we have declared a First Alert Weather Day for Tuesday and the 7 Stormteam will be monitoring the situation throughout the weekend into next week. In addition, all of SWLA has been included in a very rare Winter Storm Watch, starting Monday at 6 PM and going until 12 AM Wednesday.
Now the next question is, exactly how much snow or ice can we expect? It still will likely take a day to truly get a good grasp on the small details, but between 2-6 inches of snow, is a solid bet, and some models are showing more than that. Any areas that receive sleet could see less, which would likely be closer to the coast if that occurs. Of course, the opposite is true in that if things stay colder, then some higher amounts could take place in a few spots. Until energy that will create the low moves into North America Sunday, there still remains uncertainty in those exact details and we’ll continue to keep you updated through the weekend.
The precipitation will come to an end late Tuesday and temperatures could be much colder Wednesday, especially if there is snow or ice on the ground. The temperature forecast has been nudged downward to account for this as lows in the 10s look likely Wednesday morning.
Another cold front could bring another round of rain by Thursday, but only rain as temperatures will be way too warm and the setup is not the same as Tuesday. But temperatures will remain cool behind that front with lows in the 30s and highs in the 50s.
The bottom line is this: It will be cold and miserable early next week. Winter precipitation looks more likely now and snow would be the most likely type. Details on home much snow could fall remain TBD until this weekend…