SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Buckle up as the weather is going to take us on a roller coaster of a ride this week. We will kick off the week with widespread rain today, and a stronger cold front bringing an Arctic blast late Thursday through Christmas Day.
Cold and rainy Monday: Many of you are already hearing the raindrops on your roof this morning, and that will continue through the entire day. An area of low pressure along the Texas coast is churning rain in our direction. Rain will be on and off through mid-morning, but by the late morning and early afternoon, steady rain is expected to develop across much of Texas and Louisiana.
The rain is likely to be steady at times through tonight along and south of the I-20 corridor. There may be a few thunderstorms across the Toledo Bend region but no severe weather is expected. Accumulation will be 1 to 2 inches for much of Texas and Louisiana through tonight, with isolated amounts up to 3 inches. Accumulations will be lighter near and north of the I-30 corridor where the rain should ease this afternoon.
Forecast rainfall accumulations over the next 36 hours
Temperatures are going to stay cold all day. We will be near 40 degrees at sunrise, only rising a few degrees putting our afternoon highs in the low to mid-40s. This cold air is a taste of what’s to come through Christmas weekend.
Monday afternoon forecast high temperatures
A strong Arctic front brings very cold air Friday through Christmas: We will have a few leftover rain showers Tuesday morning, then mostly cloudy and cool weather takes over Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday with highs in the upper 40s and low 50s.
A strong cold front will bring Arctic air to the region late Thursday. It looks like there will be a narrow band of precipitation that develops near the front Thursday afternoon into Thursday night. Initially, this will be rain, but there will be a quick changeover into sleet and snow if precipitation is present. The very cold temperatures behind this front would result in the potential for some of this snow to stick. Accumulations are expected to be light, but there may be some icy roads from Thursday afternoon into Friday if this occurs.
The story Friday and really the headline of the week will be the very cold and windy weather Friday. A gusty north wind of 25 miles per hour will pump Arctic air into the region dropping highs into the mid-20s Friday! The breezy north wind will bring wind-chill temperatures throughout the day below 10 degrees.
With temperatures below freezing for 48 hours from Thursday afternoon until Saturday afternoon, a hard freeze is likely. Make preparations today to cover your faucets, and any exposed pipes, and turn your sprinklers off.
The wind will relax on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but it will stay very cold with highs in the 30s and low 40s over the holiday weekend.
Get exclusive severe weather details on storms as they approach your area by downloading the Arklatex Weather Authority app, now available in the App Store and Google Play
