Arctic blast on the way
Courtesy of NOAA
Wind chills are expected to drop drastically Monday morning to single digits and lower teens in some areas of Lincoln Parish.
Lincoln Parish could be in for some dicey weather beginning tonight through Tuesday as unseasonably high temperatures and potentially severe storms move through, followed by a dramatic drop for what could be more than 48 consecutive hours below freezing.
“It’s shaping up to be a busy next few days,” Matt Hemingway, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Shreveport, said Wednesday.
While officials are urging residents to begin making coldweather preparations, they’re also saying don’t ignore the risk of se-vere storms, damaging wind, hail, and possibly even tornadoes tonight through Friday morning.
Today’s high temperature is expected to be near an unseasonably warm 70 degrees. The rain is expected to move through quickly, dropping temperatures throughout the day Friday into the upper 30s.
The attention then turns to dangerously cold temperatures and possible winter precipitation by the end of the weekend.
“It’s kind of a one-two punch,” Hemingway said.
Sunday’s high is forecast to be in the lower 50s, with a chance of freezing rain in the early hours of Monday morning and low of 22 degrees.
Once temperatures fall below freezing, they may not climb back above that until Wednesday, before dropping back down Wednesday night, the NWS said. Lows could be in the teen to near 20 degrees Monday and Tuesday nights.
That will be bring and dangerous windchills possibly in the single digits, especially Tuesday.
The forecast predicts some wintry mix late Sunday night to Monday, with light freezing rain and sleet the mostly likely for Lincoln Parish, NWS-Shreveport Senior Meteorologist Janson Hansford said.
Accumulations look to be less than a quarter inch, he said.
That could result in some ice on exposed surfaces, trees, and power lines.
As the cold weather approaches, the NWS suggests residents insulate pipes, gather extra supplies in case you need to stay inside for several days, have extra batteries in case your home loses power, and remember to protect pets and livestock.
