Mississippi River Finally Rising, Atmospheric River Hitting West Coast...

The new Thursday Drought monitor shows us what we already know.  We need rain!  Most of Louisiana is in exceptional drought with less severe conditions farther to the north.  The recent weekend rains up over the Midwest are working their way down the Ohio & upper Mississippi River Basins.  Finally we're seeing rising from Cairo down to New Orleans with that trend continuing for the next 7-10 days.

With increased river flow, the salt water wedge should begin to retreat back into the Gulf.  As you can see, this afternoon's satellite view finds few clouds and no rain falling from here to Wisconsin.  Where is it raining?  Look out to the west.

As expected during an El Nino Winter, "atmospheric rivers" are beginning to form.  What we need to see is the southern stream (sub-tropical jet) to get active.  That isn't happening yet.  We are beginning to see low level Gulf moisture surging northward as the surface high pulls farther to the east.  However, we have no trigger to develop widespread rainfall.

Note the dew point boundary that has developed between us and McComb.  What we have to pay attention for is more "super fog" conditions as winds turn more easterly.  You can see how the smoke plumes (that were blowing offshore yesterday) are streaming to the west of Lake Pontchartrain.

If you encounter any dense fog patches over the next couple of days, please slow down.  We don't want to repeat what happened on I-55.

With increased low level moisture & warmer temperatures, look for over night fog to be a daily occurrence.  Did you see the "Lake Effect" this morning?

The top graphic was from 6:30 AM when it was freezing at Slidell while Lakefront airport was 20 degrees warmer.  At the same time, the bottom picture showed the heavy frost happening on the South Shore away from the Lake.  Also note the shallow layer of fog in the background.  Gosh, after our long summer, I loved today's feel to the air.  Finally...

Yesterday was the 70th anniversary of Ch. 8 going on air.  It wasn't always Ch. 8 before I arrived and I found the videos from the past entertaining.  If you want a good laugh, go to the FOX 8 website and enjoy some views of us in our "youth".  Stay tuned!