Don't Blame It on The Weather...Man...

There were many times during my career when the forecast totally busted, but no one complained since the outdoor event went off with no weather issues.  Such was Mardi Gras today as the previous day’s forecast indicated it would be cloudy with a 30-40% chance for a spotty shower with highs mid to upper 60s.  Reality ended up way better as bright sunshine broke through the clouds around 10 AM and lasted well into the afternoon.  With the unexpected sunshine, highs climbed into the mid-70s making everyone very comfortable whether you were riding in or watching parades.  I use to fudge my predictions by saying…”there could be some sunny breaks” even though I didn’t think we’d see much sunshine.   So what happened?   We were extremely lucky as a weak disturbance in the pesky SW upper flow triggered an area of showers with some thunder over east Texas & western Louisiana.  150 miles farther to the east and today could have been wet & cold (40s-50s).  It’s all about location and today we were lucky.   I was happy to see such a perfect day as I know all the efforts that go into putting together Carnival and it just makes everything so much better when it’s warm & dry.

 

Now back to the real world again.  The advertised warm up is still coming with highs in the 70s, possibly flirting with 80 Wed-Friday.  A weak front will slide through on Saturday with a few showers but I don’t see widespread rains coming for the next 7+ days.   Saturday and Sunday should stay in the 60s before another warm up comes for most of next week putting us back into the 70s.   With such warmth, it shouldn’t take long for new growth to show up from plants damaged by our winter’s freezes.   I already see it popping on some plants while others look totally dead.   My shrimp plants & hibiscus look like they’re toast, but I’ll give them a few weeks before I give up and dig up.   Long range (10-14 days) still doesn’t indicate any Arctic air coming back, but there will still be some chilly fronts coming as we get into March.  We’re not done with sweater and jacket weather yet so don’t pack them away.  Stay tuned!