Timing Today’s Severe Weather Threat in Lafayette and Acadiana

I think it is a pretty safe bet that sometime over the next 24 hours, if you live in South Louisiana, that you'll experience gusty winds, heavy rains, flashes of lightning, and the rumble of thunder. I think a lot of us will also be hearing the tic tic tic of hailstones hitting the pavement too. That's right it's yet another round of potentially strong to severe thunderstorms. And just like Wednesday's storm event, most of the heavy action should take place while you're sleeping.

Here's a great graphic from the National Weather Service Office in Lake Charles. It outlines quite nicely where forecasters feel the greatest threat of strong to severe storms will materialize. However, like the "cone of uncertainty" in hurricane forecasts Mother Nature will color outside the lines. So, don't expect the severe weather to be confined to our color-coded forecast map.

As you can see in this graphic (below) from the Storm Team Three Weather Lab at KATC Television the GRAF Model predicts the most likely time for strong to severe storms to move through Acadiana will come between Midnight and Sunrise.

That same GRAF Model, according to KATC should bring rainfall totals of an inch to almost two inches of rain depending on where you live. As of now, model guidance suggests in the Lafayette area we could see between an inch and an inch and a half of rain between now and Saturday evening.

For those with weekend plans outside, I think you'll be able to get most of those in without the need for rain protection. We really don't anticipate a lot of rainfall in the area until later this afternoon. The heaviest weather will move through during the overnight hours and there might be lingering showers and maybe even a thunderstorm leftover into Saturday morning.

By the time ArtWalk opens up in downtown Lafayette on Saturday night skies should be mostly clear with temperatures on the cool side but not cold. The outlook for Sunday and the Sunday Brunch Downtown calls for mostly sunny skies and warm temperatures. You might want to put on sunscreen if you're planning on attending.

But if the clouds and rain find you confined indoors, you might want to do a little cooking. If you do, we've some really great ways to save you some time and trouble. Hey, they really work too.