It’s expected to rain throughout the rest of the week in Union County, with a 90% probability of rain forecast this afternoon.
“It’s going to be on and off,” said Lisa May, a meteorological technician at at the Shreveport National Weather Service office. “We do expect quite a bit of rain for the next seven days; you guys could easily see anywhere between two to upwards of three to four inches in isolated rainfalls over the next seven days.”
The Shreveport NWS seven-day forecast predicts scattered thunderstorms through Sunday, though their likelihood is expected to decrease as the week continues. Through Wednesday, chances of rain are forecast at a probability of 60% or more.
“It’s going to be on and off,” May reiterated. “For example, on Wednesday, we’ve got a lesser chance for rain in the morning at 60%, and then increasing to 90% during the late afternoon. As the daylight hours pass, daytime heating increases the chances of a thunderstorm.”
May said Monday the weather isn’t expected to turn severe this week; however, she said it is a good idea to have a plan in case the weather does turn nasty, particularly those engaging in outdoor activities.
“The saying is ‘when thunder roars, go indoors,’” she said. “If you’re outside, camping, fishing, have a game plan to get to safety.”
The rain expected for the area is coming from moisture over the Gulf of Mexico, May said. The warm water currents in the Gulf Stream correspondingly warm the air over the ocean, which travels into the southeastern region of the United States, as well as Western Europe, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“We’ve got this Gulf moisture that’s … coming our way, and then we’ve got this moisture over Texas that’s just sitting there stagnant, that’s not moving to the east, so its just kind of sitting here raining on us,” she said.
Union County is currently under a Hazardous Weather Outlook from the Shreveport NWS, which says isolated severe thunderstorms cannot be ruled out and that flash flooding could develop during heavy rainfall over the next week. May said local residents can stay updated on the NWS’s social media and website.
Temperatures will stay in the low 80s during the day this week and drop to the mid- to low 60’s during the overnight and early morning hours, May said. Once the rain this week has passed, Union County residents may start seeing the first signs of summer.
“Once this rain gets out of the way, we could start seeing some high temperatures — higher than what we’ve seen — so we could start seeing some of those summer patterns,” May said. “Summer is definitely on the horizon.”