Weather Service Details Louisiana Storm Threat Over Christmas

Today marks the first day of winter in Louisiana and just as the calendar notes a change of seasons the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Lake Charles is issuing guidance on what could be Louisiana's first significant storm of the brand-new season.

There is good news and bad news in Louisiana's forecast as we traverse the next few days into Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The good news, if you happen to be traveling, is there won't be any frozen precipitation to hinder your trip. Most of the United States will not be affected by winter weather so that shouldn't slow you down by car, by air, by train, or by boat.

And while there won't be a wintry mix of frozen precipitation to deal with over the long holiday weekend there will be plenty of regular rain, heavy at times, that Louisiana travelers will have to contend with. The Weather Prediction Center has placed a portion of Louisiana and Texas at a slight risk for excessive rain on Christmas Eve.

The graphic above from the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Lake Charles is very comprehensive in explaining when and where the worst of the wet weather will likely occur. The cities of Shreveport, Lake Charles, Lafayette, and New Orleans will be at a slightly higher risk for heavier rain than Monroe, Bogalusa, and Vidalia during the day on Sunday.

Just to be clear, Sunday won't be the only rainy day across the region, but it will be the day when most of the wet weather will be in place. Here is how the National Weather Service sees the timing of this holiday weekend's wet weather event.

This graphic gives you a "visual" of when certain cities across Louisiana and Southeast Texas will experience rainfall, when it will start, and when it will end. Hopefully, this adds to your ability to plan for holiday travels and celebrations. As you can see the rain chances in Lafayette and Lake Charles start to ramp up late Saturday but increase as we move into the day on Sunday.

How Much Rain Will Fall in Louisiana During Christmas Weekend?

The National Weather Service Office in Lake Charles has prepared a graphic that gives us a great picture of just how much rain certain sections of Louisiana and Southeast Texas will experience over the next several days. The greatest rainfall totals will be along the I-10 corridor, in northwest Louisiana, and southwestern Arkansas.

As of now, it's believed that much of the Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Baton Rouge corridor will receive at least an inch of rain with most locations capturing more than two inches before the storm system moves away from the area early next week.

Temperatures throughout this rain event will remain well above freezing so there is no threat of frozen precipitation for the area this weekend. We don't see any temperatures below freezing for the area through the beginning of the new year so it looks as if the moisture will be our only issue for holiday travels.

And speaking of driving, we know you'd never get a ticket for any of these offenses, would you?