School and government building closures due to possible severe weather Wednesday - WDSU New Orleans

WEEK. THE BIG STORY HERE AT HOME OF THAT WEATHER ALERT DAY LEE SOUTHWICK JOINING NOW WITH WHERE THE STORMS ARE RIGHT NOW. WELL, THE LINE OF STORMS STILL PUSHING THROUGH PLACES, MISSISSIPPI AND BACK IN LOUISIANA. IT WILL ARRIVE TO OUR AREA THIS AFTERNOON. YOU CAN SEE RIGHT NOW ACROSS OUR AREA, IT IS MAINLY WE WERE WATCHING SOME OF THESE DOWNPOURS PUSHED OUT OF MISSISSIPPI JUST A LITTLE BIT OF SHOWER ACTIVITY BARELY HANGING ON THERE. EVERYONE ELSE DRY. MOSTLY CLOUDY AND WARM AND HUMID. TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE SEVENTIES RIGHT NOW. DEW POINT IN THE SEVENTIES AS WELL. SO IT IS VERY HUMID OUTSIDE. NOW, THIS IS ALL AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING STORM SYSTEM. THE ATMOSPHERE IS RIPE ENOUGH THAT IF WE GET A THUNDERSTORM THIS MORNING, THAT COULD ALSO BECOME SEVERE. BUT THE RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER RIGHT NOW IN THESE WARNING HOURS, IT’S LOW BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE WE’RE NOT GOING TO HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF DEVELOP AND WE AREN’T EXPECTING TOO MANY THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP. HOWEVER, AGAIN, IF ONE THUNDERSTORM DOES DEVELOP THIS, IT COULD BE SEVERE. THE REAL RISK, THE GREATER RISK ARRIVES THIS AFTERNOON AS THIS LINE OF STORMS MOVES INTO OUR AREA. 2:00 IT COULD BE ARRIVING TO PORTIONS OF NORTHERN TANGIPAHOA PARISH. BUT LOOK AT THIS. WE’LL ALL HAVE TO WATCH OUT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THUNDERSTORMS OUT AHEAD OF THAT LINE. THOSE THUNDERSTORMS COULD BE SEVERE. THEY COULD SPIN UP TORNADOES, DROP SOME HAIL, DAMAGING WINDS. AND THEY WOULD ALSO ADD TO OUR FLOOD RISK BECAUSE WHEN THIS LINE MOVES THROUGH, THAT’S GOING TO BE A LOT OF RAIN, HEAVY RAIN MOVING SLOWLY OVER OUR AREA, ADDING TO THAT FLOOD RISK. NOTICE 4:00 HERE STILL WORKING ITS WAY ACROSS THE NORTH SHORE. NOW MOVING THE SOUTH SHORE TO FINISHING OUT THE SOUTH SHORE. LATER ON IN THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. SO IT’S MAINLY AN AFTERNOON THREAT. AND FOR SOME COASTAL AREAS INTO THE EARLY EVENING. OUR MAIN CONCERN THAT IS FLOODING OUT THERE WITH THE HEAVY RAIN. BUT WE ALSO HAVE THE RISK OF TORNADOES DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL. SO WE DO HAVE A FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 9:00 THIS EVENING, 4 TO 6 INCHES OF RAIN POSSIBLE LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS. IF YOU LIVE IN AN AREA FLOODS EASY, I WOULD SUGGEST MOVING YOUR CAR TO HIGHER GROUND. ALSO, THE TORNADO POSSIBILITY, THESE HERE, THAT MEANS WE’RE IN A HATCHED AREA FROM THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER, WHICH MEANS THAT STRONGER TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE IF TWOS TO FIVES. WHEN IT COMES TO THE WIND THREAT, WE COULD SEE DAMAGING WIND 50 MILES AN HOUR OR STRONGER. THAT WOULD LEAD TO POWER OUTAGES, KNOCKING DOWN TREES, POWER LINES, FENCES AND ROOF DAMAGE. AND ALSO, WE HAVE THE RISK OF LARGE HAIL OVER AN INCH IN DIAMETER, POSSIBLE. BUT BEHIND THIS, COOLER AIR MOVES IN BECAUSE IT’S ALL ASSOCIATED WITH THE COLD FRONT. METEOROLOGIST ART JARRETT HAS MUCH MORE ON THAT. ALL RIGHT. IN A WAY, WE GO WITH THAT AS WE HEAD INTO TONIGHT. YOU’RE LOOKING AT CONDITIONS ARE DROPPING DOWN TO THE FORTIES AND THE FIFTIES WHILE BREEZY WINDS STILL HOLDING ON. SO NOT MUCH IN THE WAY OF FOG JUST YET. WE’LL PICK UP AGAIN WINDS ABOUT 5 TO 20 MILES PER HOUR IN SOME CASES, WITH GUSTS UP TO AROUND 25 TO 30 MILES PER HOUR. BUT OF COURSE, SKIES BEGIN TO CLEAR OUT, AS YOU CAN SEE GOING INTO THAT TONIGHT, AS WE LOOK A LITTLE BIT AHEAD, WE’RE GOING TO BE SEEING CONDITIONS DO PLAY OUT LIKE THIS FOR WILL BE GETTING INTO AT LEAST TEMPERATURES IN THE FORTIES AND THE FIFTIES ON THE SOUTH SHORE. WE’LL GO TO THE NORTH SHORE. YOU’LL PICK UP TEMPERATURES AROUND, SAY, 43, 44 OR 45 DEGREES IN SOME CASES. AND THEN WE’LL SEE COOLER CONDITIONS PREVAIL AS WE GO RIGHT THROUGH THE NEXT FEW DAYS. WHY? BECAUSE IT PLAYS OUT FROM 9:00 IN THE MORNING FOR THURSDAY. COOL CONDITIONS, HIGHS FOR THE DAY, GETTING THE LOW TO MID SIXTIES. ONCE WE GET INTO A FRIDAY, WE’LL ALSO BE PICKING UP CLEARING SKIES WITH MOSTLY SUNNY CONDITIONS GOING RIGHT INTO AT LEAST 58 TO 63 DEGREES. SO A LITTLE BIT COOLER. AND THEN BY FRIDAY, WE’LL LOAD UP THE CLOUDS LOOKING AT AT LEAST GETTING INTO MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES AS WE FINISH OUT ON FRIDAY AND GO INTO THE REMAINDER PORTIONS OF SATURDAY WE’LL SEE POTENTIALLY FOR MOSTLY CLOUDY CONDITIONS WITH A LITTLE BIT OF RAINFALL COMING BACK INTO THE PICTURE. NOW LET’S TAKE A QUICK LOOK AS WE GO INTO TOMORROW, 61 TO 65 DEGREES COOLER. A LIGHT BREEZE, WINDS 5 TO 15 MILES PER HOUR. A LITTLE PREVIEW FROM TIME TO TIME. WE’LL GO THROUGH AGAIN THIS ALERT DAY TODAY FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. MORE SUNSHINE, COOLER CONDITIONS GETTING BACK TO AROUND NEAR SEASONAL TEMPERATURES. YOU SEE 65 DEGREES WOULD BE OUR NORMAL HIGH FOR THE DAY. WE’LL SEE SATURDAY AND WITH A LITTLE BIT OF RAINFALL COMING IN FOR SATURDAY, POSSIBLY A SPRINKLE OR TWO IN THE MORNING. AND THEN BY MONDAY OR TUESDAY, RAINFALL RETURNS WITH. TEMPERATURES IN THE UPPER FIFTIES FO