Unsettled Weather Pattern Means Storms Likely for Acadiana

Forecasters with the National Weather Service Office in Lake Charles have extended the flood warning for the Vermilion River at Lafayette at least through Friday. The reason for the extension is a very unsettled weather pattern that has ironically settled in over much of Louisiana.

That means that what you see today, you'll likely see again every day this week. By the way, what forecasters think you'll be seeing every day this week are widely scattered showers and thunderstorms. Some of the thunderstorms could produce heavy downpours over a short period of time. Those downpours could exacerbate waterways, such as the Vermillion River, which are already near their flood stage from last week's rainfall.

The synopsis for the next several days from the Storm Prediction Center does not call for a strong threat of severe weather in the area, at least right now. Through Wednesday the SPC has most of the stronger storms forecast for eastern Texas but there is a portion of western Louisiana that could experience strong storms as well.

Meteorologist Bradley Benoit with KATC television has run some of the rainfall projection models for the week and the Euro Rain Model is showing accumulations of two to nearly five inches of rain between now and Friday over some portions of Acadiana.

The greatest concentration of precipitation appears to be in the area of the state that is bounded by US 190 to the north and I-49/US 90 to the east. That portion of southwestern Louisiana could see in excess of four or five inches of rain over the next few days.

In fact, the early morning radar scan out of Lake Charles showed a line of strong storms moving into that part of the state as of 0300 AM. Special Marine Warnings have been issued for those storms at this time.

Since the weather might keep you inside a little more than usual this week, now might be a good time to focus on your cooking skills. Anything that makes that chore a little easier we are all in favor of.