by Malcolm Butler
This week will be cold.
That’s what forecasters are very confident in as we head into the middle of the week.
However, as we get closer to Thursday, the chances of some winter precipitation seem to be growing as the National Weather Service out of Shreveport is still calling for some sort of mixture of freezing rain, wintry mix or even a little snow.
Armani Cassel, a meteorologist with the NWS in Shreveport, said that the latest models are showing a number of scenarios for the south, including what could be mainly freezing rain and wintry mix for Lincoln Parish.
Over the past two weeks, weather models have indicated the chance for the first true winter weather of this year for our area. And although its been a bit of a roller coaster over the past week, the models 48 hours out are still indicating that north Louisiana along the I-20 corridor could see some precipitation.
“The main story is going to be more of a wintry mix everywhere along I-20 in Louisiana,” said Cassel at 8 p.m. Monday night. “As it makes it way east, I think more in the daytime hours it will transition to a wintry mix and freezing rain … back and forth.”
Cassel said the current model calls for precipitation to start around midnight Wednesday and continue through Thursday and into much of Friday. He did say the forecast could still change as we get closer to that timeframe.
“The beginning of the front starts just after midnight Wednesday,” said Cassel. “Thursday it will transition from a wintry mix into a freezing rain situation and will continue through the day and into Thursday night. This really doesn’t end until Friday afternoon.
“I really hesitate on snow. The snow is looking more likely along I-30 and north. That’s the better chance of snow. You can’t rule out snow (for Lincoln Parish), but it’s much less likely right now.”
Cassel said it’s hard to know about accumulation at this point.
“That’s where it gets tricky,” said Cassel. “The best forecast of accumulations will be in probabilities. The probabilities of accumulations of freezing rains happens by Friday morning. There is a greater than 50 percent chance of rain after Thursday night and into Friday morning. There is a much higher possibility of accumulations of freezing rain closer to that time frame. We will have a little bit more certainty as we get closer.”
The Lincoln Parish Journal will continue to update its readers as we get further into the week.
