Heat Advisory Friday, with scattered thunderstorms bringing relief later in the day

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – A Heat Advisory will be in effect again today, but scattered thunderstorms will bring relief to many areas as we move into the afternoon and evening. The pattern of scattered storms will continue into the middle of next week.

A complex of dying thunderstorms along an advancing cold front to our north will send in cool air outflow that will help to trigger another round of scattered storms at some point today. Some of the storms could develop before noon. If you are spending any time outside, take an umbrella to be on the safe side.

Future clouds and radar is showing the rain and storms becoming widespread in the afternoon and evening heat. The storms will likely be moving north to south across the region today, which may keep temperatures a touch cooler north of I-20. As of right now the Storm Prediction Center does not have us in their severe weather outlook, but given the high heat and humidity, a few storms could be capable of damaging wind gust or two as well as frequent lightning.

The National Weather Service has extended the Heat Advisory for most areas through 7 p.m. this evening. Highs in the low 90s and high humidity will bring heat index or ‘feels like’ temperatures near 105 degrees this afternoon. This will be most likely in east Texas where it may take longer for the storms to arrive. If rain develops before noon those areas may have highs in the 80s, and the heat won’t feel as oppressive today.

The cold front will stall across the region this weekend bringing scattered storms Saturday and Sunday. For the 4th of July, scattered storms will be most widespread during the afternoon and evening. If you have outdoor barbecue plans they may be impacted by rain, but the majority of the rain will come to an end by sunset/firework time.

High temperatures will bounce back and forth between the upper 80s and low 90s this weekend and into next week. A north wind Saturday and Sunday should drop our humidity a touch, so we may not see the heat advisory extended.

Given the high humidity rainfall will be heavy at times, but due to the scattered nature of the storms we shouldn’t see any flooding issues. Futurecast is showing average accumulations in the 1 to 2 inch range between now and Monday night.