OK, so the forecast wasn't exactly correct as we were expecting today to be more a "rain event" instead of a severe weather day. Flash Flood Watches were issued well in advance and they verified from Lafayette to Baton Rouge where 5-7" fell. Baton Rouge had nearly 6" in 36 hours with 2.81" coming in one hour creating widespread street flooding. We were very fortunate here as the line of storms was oriented north to south and remained very progressive (moving quickly) resulting in rain totals generally less than an inch. SPC (Storm Prediction Center) recognized that the atmosphere over south Louisiana was quickly becoming unstable and issued a statement after 8 am that a Tornado Watch would be likely. Bam! The tornadoes started coming and FOX 8 remained on the air past their news time of 10 AM. In fact, they stayed lived all the way past 1 PM. The VIPIR radar graphics were far superior to the other channels (I was switching) and Bruce Katz & Shelby Latino did an outstanding job of keep the public informed during a rapidly changing environment. This system was part of Invest 91 L that did not develop into Barry. However, the swirl of clouds moved right over SE LA/MS triggering widespread showers & storms before weakening this afternoon. We are not done with the storms as a strong upper disturbance that was in New Mexico yesterday has pushed through Oklahoma and is entering Arkansas tonight. It will be a slow mover tomorrow and this is a cold pool (unstable)of air that should allow for numerous daytime heating storms on Friday. Unlike today's north to south band of storms, Friday's should orient west to east. If you get under a band of storms for several hours, expect some street flooding to occur. There could even be some hail develop with this upper cold pool. Expect drier air to filter in over the weekend and next week will see a weak front bring us some much lower humidity.
The tropics have gone dead and no models predict any action for the next 7-10 days. Stay tuned!
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