FIRST ALERT FORECAST: A warm afternoon ahead of the cold front, turning much cooler for the weekend

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - We have made it to the end of the week and for our Friday we can expect a fairly similar day in comparison to the last several as we await the much anticipated cold front, which will arrive as we head through the later evening hours. Thankfully rain won’t be a big issue for us through the afternoon or really the evening as showers and storms will be very isolated with the best chance of rain coming as the front moves through.

Heading out the door to work and school this morning it’s pretty much a carbon copy of the last few days with temperatures in the lower to middle 70′s but with high dew points making it feel very tropical out there. We will start off with partly cloudy to mostly cloudy skies with a little bit of sunshine peaking through the clouds from time to time, but expect a very warm afternoon with it feeling more like summer than fall. Highs today reach the middle to upper 80′s once again with a few areas flirting with 90 by the afternoon and couple that with the humidity it will feel even warmer out there. Any outdoor plans for the afternoon look to be okay with just a stray shower or storm but most of us are staying on the drier side before the front moves in after sunset. With that being said ‘Movie Under the Stars” and Friday Night Football look to be okay but as we head towards 7-10 pm we will at least have to keep an eye to the sky.

Cooler and drier air will move in quickly behind the front and we will feel the changes waking up on Saturday morning with lows back into the upper 50′s and much lower humidity. That trend will continue right on into the weekend as well with mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies but the difference in afternoon temperatures will be some 10-15 degrees cooler. Highs for both Saturday and Sunday are in the middle 70′s for many areas and that is after some cool crisp starts with lows in the low 50′s for areas south with a few upper 40′s for areas to the north. This is Home Fest is happening this weekend in downtown and if you are thinking about heading out the weather won’t be an issue but it may be a little windy with some gust up to 30 mph. Any other plans will be just fine as well with no chance of rain and a real taste of Fall returning to Southwest Louisiana.

The drier and cool weather sticks around into early next week before winds begin to turn back out of the south and raise our humidity as well as temperatures a little. Some rain chances will also return to the forecast by mid-late week with another front arriving to the area and that looks to be the case heading Thursday into Friday. Much of next week we stay in the lower 80′s but overall a very nice pattern for the next few days. The tropics remain quiet close to home as well with the Gulf and the Caribbean remaining quiet with just a small chance of development in the Central Atlantic as it moves into the open water. Have a great Friday and enjoy the fall weather!

Meteorologist Jacob Durham

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