Wet weather to arrive in Baton Rouge, New Orleans early New ...

A strong cold front that was dropping snow across the Midwest this weekend will trigger a three-day spate of chilly rainfall in Baton Rouge and New Orleans beginning early New Year's Day. Between 1 and 2 inches of rain could accumulate through Thursday, according to a forecaster with the Slidell office of the National Weather Service.

The rain is expected to hold off until about 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. Tuesday in Baton Rouge and around daybreak in New Orleans, said Robert Ricks Jr., lead forecaster at the Slidell office.

"Right now, we've got a slow moving, but strong, front coming in that was responsible for heavy snowfall over Missouri and Kansas," Ricks said.

The moisture-laden air streaming north from the Gulf of Mexico that will trigger the rain will push over the cold ground-level air accompanying the front, resulting in the rain falling through the colder air, Ricks said. But air temperatures behind the front won't be low enough to produce snow or ice, he said. ?

Expect New Year's Eve lows in the upper 50s from Baton Rouge to New Orleans.

Highs on New Year's Day will be in the mid-60s, accompanied by a 100 percent chance of showers, in Baton Rouge. On the north shore, Tuesday temperatures will be in the upper 60s, with a 70 percent chance of rain, with New Orleans also seeing highs in the upper 60s, with a 70 percent chance of rain.

On Tuesday night, there's a 100 percent chance of rain showers, with lows in the 40s from Baton Rouge to New Orleans.

On Wednesday, the chance of rain drops to 50 percent in Baton Rouge, but stays at 100 percent in Slidell and Baton Rouge, with highs only in the mid-50s, dropping to the upper 30s overnight in Baton Rouge and lower 40s in New Orleans.

On Thursday, highs will struggle into the lower 50s, as the chance of rain begins to diminish. Lows Thursday night will drop into the mid-30s in Baton Rouge and upper 30s in Slidell and New Orleans.

On Friday, sunny skies are forecast to return, though temperatures will stay in the low to mid-50s, dropping again into the 30s overnight.?

The brief dry period on New Year's Eve represents a respite from what forecasters say was a busy weather year for southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi, marked by Hurricane Isaac in August, a low river level and an outbreak of tornadoes on Christmas Day.

Source: http://www.nola.com/weather/index.ssf/2012/12/wet_weather_to_arrive_in_baton.html

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