FIRST ALERT FORECAST: Sunshine returns for the afternoon, showers arrive Friday

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - Our cold front has finally pushed through and has brought some cooler and drier air in for our Thursday, which will lead to plenty of sunshine through the afternoon. The nice weather will be short lived however as winds will turn more easterly this afternoon and eventually more southerly as out next disturbance will lift from the south and bring the chance of a few showers heading into Friday.

For this morning if you are heading out the door to work and school you may want to grab the light jacket as temperatures are on the cooler side with most areas in the upper 50′s to lower 60′s. There are a few clouds still lingering around and that will be the case through the morning before sunshine returns for the afternoon and sets us up for a beautiful day ahead. Even though we had a cold front move through our highs won’t deviate much as we still manage to reach the upper 70′s to lower 80′s. Hopefully you can get out to enjoy the afternoon as the weather will be perfect with low humidity and pleasant temperatures, but the one thing we will watch much like the first half of the week is the winds as they remain very gusty at times with some gust approaching 30 mph. Winds will be turning throughout the day as well with a northerly component this morning and turning more east to southeast through the afternoon and evening.

Unfortunately, the nicer weather we see today won’t carry to the end of the week as moisture returns through the overnight as well as cloud cover ahead of our next system. Friday will get off to a cooler start with most areas in the middle to upper 50′s early in the morning, but with clouds increasing it will help to warm us as we near sunrise and we’ll continue to warm steadily through the afternoon. As for rain chances they look to return and be on the isolated side as a few showers and storms will accompany the upper level disturbance, but as of now models aren’t painting a complete washout. The current timing looks to be late morning through early evening before slightly drier weather moves in for Friday evening and the weekend. Of course this upcoming weekend is Easter and many may have plans outside and with the latest guidance the forecast looks to be okay. Highs will be mild with lower 80′s returning and a mixture of sun and clouds. Rain won’t be far away but it looks to hold off until late Sunday and into Monday.

To start next week we see yet another cold front pushing through and this one will be relatively weak compared to the last few as isolated showers and storms return for Monday. Finally a drier stretch of weather looks to move in through the middle of next week with highs staying steady in the upper 70′s each afternoon. Some models suggest a few showers returning by late next week, but there is plenty of time to watch that as we get closer. For now enjoy the sunshine this afternoon and lower humidity!

Meteorologist Jacob Durham

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