Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS New Orleans/Baton Rouge, LA

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793 FXUS64 KLIX 072338 AFDLIX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service New Orleans LA 638 PM CDT Fri Jun 7 2024 ...New AVIATION... .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Saturday night) Issued at 121 PM CDT Fri Jun 7 2024 With few clouds to shade us, today has been toasty with highs about 5 or so degrees above normal into the mid 90s. Light northeasterly flow on the eastern flank of the surface high is aiding in subtle compressional warming across areas along and north of I-10/12. PQL so far is the hot spot with current temp at 96F and heat index of 104F, but similar is being observed across the area. Surface high pressure, ample mid-level dry air, and rising heights are the culprit for widespread suppression of afternoon convection and this is expected to continue through Saturday as these features moving eastward overhead. Light northerly flow will also allow filtering in of slightly drier air across the northern half of the CWA making for more balmy morning temperatures all the way into the mid to upper 60s! Another toasty day tomorrow with highs in the mid 90s though with slightly drier air, heat indices should stay in the low 100s, below heat advisory criteria. Either way, it`s important early in the summer season to stay hydrated and limit outdoor work during the hottest time of the day as many are not going to be acclimated to summer weather quite yet and more susceptible to heat-related illness. PoPs remain <10% Saturday afternoon with "highest" chance being in the Atchafalaya/Terrebonne area. As the surface high pressure scoots off to the east, onshore flow returns Saturday afternoon into the evening and heights will begin to fall in lieu of the next system early next week. Falling heights and onshore winds will increase low-level moisture and aid in development of showers and storms especially along coastal areas on Sunday afternoon. There is a notable split in guidance for high temperatures dependent on depicted coverage of storms, have leaned with NBM guidance as expectations are there will be time for temps to climb quickly through early afternoon before any cloud cover or cold pooling from storms impact sites. && .LONG TERM... (Sunday through Thursday night) Issued at 121 PM CDT Fri Jun 7 2024 Going into the next work week, a "cold" front should be sinking slowly southward through the lower Mississippi Valley. The local rain chances will depend greatly on exactly how far south this front makes it before stalling and washing out. All model guidance generally agrees that the front will lose its forward push as the upper low lifts northeastward and flow becomes more parallel to the boundary. However, as is typical this time of year, there is quite a bit of difference between the various model solutions on the eventual stall location. If the front stalls closer to the coast/over the local area, the boundary would serve as a focus for convection and would lead to enhanced rain chances through midweek. If the front stalls north of the local area, rain chances would be more typical of a summer regime with mainly scattered afternoon convection. There has been a fairly decent shift in the consensus guidance with the latest run of the NBM coming in 20-30 percent higher than the previous forecast for POPs Tuesday and Wednesday. Given the large uncertainty, the fact that this time of year fronts don`t often make it all the way to the coast, and keeping in mind that we want to avoid a windshield wiper effect with the forecast, have opted to go with more of an incremental increase in the POP forecast, thus am generally carrying POPs that are a little lower than the latest NBM through Wednesday. By the latter part of the work week, another upper disturbance will be moving into the lower Mississippi Valley from the northwest. There is quite a bit of uncertainty regarding how this system will eventually evolve and move, but it looks to interact with a plume of tropical moisture emanating from the Caribbean to result in more increased rain chances and possible surface low development. With this feature moving in on the very tail end of the current forecast period, sticking close to the NBM seems prudent at this time. The resultant forecast calls for continued scattered showers and thunderstorms Friday into the weekend. But we will likely see changes in the forecast with at least a couple periods of more enhanced rain chances as the eventual evolution of the system becomes a bit clearer. && .AVIATION...
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(00Z TAFS) Issued at 633 PM CDT Fri Jun 7 2024 VFR conditions are expected for the whole forecast period. Light winds will eventually turn to out of the south/southeast by tomorrow afternoon. -BL
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&& .MARINE... Issued at 121 PM CDT Fri Jun 7 2024 Light northerly winds today will become more easterly or variable on Saturday. Onshore flow starts Saturday evening as surface high pressure scoots to the east. A frontal system will slowly progress southeast through early next week that should stall offshore Wednesday bringing northerly winds to the area once again. All of these winds will be 5-10 knots or less. Locally higher winds and seas will be possible with any storms that develop starting Sunday into next week. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
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MCB 64 93 70 92 / 0 0 0 0 BTR 71 97 75 95 / 0 0 0 20 ASD 70 94 74 94 / 0 0 0 10 MSY 76 94 76 93 / 0 0 0 20 GPT 71 91 75 92 / 0 0 0 10 PQL 68 94 72 94 / 0 0 0 0
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&& .LIX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... LA...None. GM...None. MS...None. GM...None. && $$ SHORT TERM...TJS LONG TERM....DM AVIATION...BL MARINE...TJS