Models Were Right...

Last night I watched Bruce Katz show 3 different models with all agreeing Saturday would go into the dumper.   Brucie had a graphic indicating the heaviest amounts (2-4”) would be west of NOLA with our amounts in the 1-2” range.   Right on models!   Baton Rouge had 2-4”+ while MSY received 2”+.   It was a real soaker and just what my yard needed.     Hopefully this will help some of the plant roots begin the process of regeneration so that when the warmer air does return, so will my plants.      From what I’m seeing, we are about to end the January Thaw over much of the eastern states this past week and return to a colder winter pattern once we get into February.  I do not like the upper air pattern that suggests fronts are likely to stall across the Gulf with waves of low pressure moving along the front.   That could set us up for many cloudy, cold & dreary days as we go into the heart of carnival season.   That doesn’t mean there won’t be a couple sunny & nice days, but will they happen when the major parades roll?  Or will they fall on days when we have no parades?   Dealing with the short term first, any rain should be gone before dawn on Sunday.   Sunday will be mild (60s) before colder air returns for Monday & Tuesday bringing back the need for heavy coats.  We’ll see a brief warm up for Wednesday & Thursday before colder air pushes back for next weekend.   Long range is dependent upon the strength of the east coast trough.  RIGHT NOW, it appears the core of the Arctic cold will stay to our north as a southern storm track brings the possibility of several snow storms from Texas to the Northeast.   It could be quite an active 3-4 weeks of storminess before we reach March.  Stay tuned!