Senior meteorologist Jason Hansford with the National Weather Service in Shreveport shared some information with the Lincoln Parish Journal Tuesday afternoon about the projections for winter weather across north Louisiana starting this weekend and into next week.
________________________________________
LPJ: What does the extended forecast look like for this weekend and next week?
Hansford: One thing is for certain, it’s becoming more certain that we’re going to be seeing some of the coldest air so far this winter that will begin moving into the region. The question is when. I was looking at some of the latest models a little while ago, and there’s still quite a bit of variability, exactly how quickly the cold temperatures will arrive, how deep the cold air will be, and whether or not we’ll have any moisture that may be riding across this cold air to offer the potential for maybe some kind of mixed wintry precipitation.
It looks like after a mild Saturday, we’re going to end up having a frontal system move in to parts of the area sometime during the weekend. Question is whether will it hang up to our north or will it move through back up and then move back down. I can’t really give you any specific details as to when that may happen, because that may happen sometime during the day Sunday or sometime late Sunday night, early Monday morning. There is some indication that we may have some light precipitation that may develop atop and even behind of this frontal system which may result in precipitation.
It could start off as a cold rain and then perhaps transition over to light freezing rain, maybe mixing with a sleet and and snow flurries. But as of right now, accumulations don’t look that significant. However, there is the potential for some icing, especially on some of your elevated objects; your bridges, your overpasses, trees and power lines. And depending on how quickly this cold air can move down, all indications are there is going to be a very abrupt change in temperature when this front moves through on the order of maybe 20, perhaps 25 degrees in a short period of time.
Depending on when that freezing line moves through, if we do get some rain out ahead of the system then any leftover standing water there’s a potential we may see, perhaps a flash freeze that may develop. And so any kind of standing water even on some of the roadways, may end up freezing pretty quickly come Monday. It doesn’t seem to be a very potent system at this point in time, at least here in North Louisiana. Now areas to our north in southwest Arkansas and central south Arkansas and southeast Oklahoma may see more impacts in terms of snow. It’s looking more like it’s just going to be kind of of the icy variety here in North Louisiana.
LPJ: How cold are the temperatures you are talking about?
Hansford: When this cold air mass settles through or settles in, the coldest night is going to be Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. That’s when temperatures are going to fall into at least the middle teens. However, before that, we’re going to get some freezing temperatures moving in. I’m thinking the subfreezing temperatures should move in at least sometime during the day on Monday. When is a good question. However, from sometime Monday once we get below freezing, we’re not going to get back above freezing until probably sometime at the earliest Wednesday afternoon. We could go perhaps 48 hours with temperatures near or below the freezing mark.
LPJ: What advice do you have for people?
Hansford: You definitely want to take precautions. Go ahead and wrap those outdoor pipes really, really well, any pipes exposed to these freezing temperatures. You want to have to make sure your house has a good working heater. Space heaters are kind of a touchy subject. You have to use extra caution with them, given the fact so many fires start this time of year because people can’t afford all around heating systems. They have to rely on space heaters. We’re looking at at least maybe 48 hours subfreezing temperatures until we’re able to climb slowly back above freezing probably sometime by Wednesday afternoon.
