Louisiana’s Winter Weather Outlook Suggests Changes are Coming
Winters in Louisiana are less about snow and ice and more about mud and humidity. We don't particularly care for attempting to travel on ice slick streets. And, we realize it's hard to write holiday tunes about condensation on your patio. So, the winter months along I-10 are just a little different than say life along I-20.
Winter is our "surprise" weather season. Let me explain. In the springtime, we know we are going to have lines of strong thunderstorms rumble through the area about every three or four days. In the summer months, we have to deal with heat indices and hurricanes. In the fall, we still have heat, just not as much of it and the thunderstorms aren't usually as severe.
Now, when we get to winter we could see an afternoon high temperature in the middle 80s on one day followed by an overnight low in the 20s two days later. It really is a roller coaster ride. But it's not a roller coaster that operates all the time.
So let's see what the government's long-range weather guessers are guessing for the months of October, November, and December.
How Hot or Cold is it Going to Be?
For most of us, the emphasis in this question is on the heat. We know it won't really get cold until January, but October through December can provide for some delightfully cool days, especially for football and hunting. The Climate Prediction Center is suggesting that Louisiana's outlook for the next three months will look something like this.
You can see on the graphic provided by NOAA that there is a better than average probability that Louisiana will see warmer than normal temperatures for the final three months of 2021. The northeast and the desert southwest will likely see much warmer temperatures compared to normal.
The issues that we have with a mild winter are usually these. One, it usually means more rain and that could lead to flooding by the time we get to spring. And, two, a mild winter usually means the mosquitoes will have a head start on summertime. That's never a good thing.
How Wet Will It Be?
Precipitation is a big "X" factor in Louisiana's winter weather outlook. The winter months are traditionally damp but not overly wet. Since we're never really out of a growing season down here the amount of rain we get will determine how productive our winter crops will be, including crawfish. Can't forget the crawfish.
As you can see, NOAA is thinking that Louisiana will experience an average or slightly below average winter where precipitation is concerned. Unfortunately, it does look as if areas just to our west could experience a dry winter. This might be okay, as long as the spring rains are plentiful.
So, the "too long/ didn't read" version of this narrative is this. We can expect temperatures over the winter months to be above or near average. This should help cut down on utility bills and make outside events and festivals more tolerable.
We should get enough rain to avoid a drought but not so much rain that the mosquitoes that weren't killed off by the cold weather won't be able to flourish. I guess what we're saying is this, if you're dreaming of a white Christmas, you'll want to go north, way north. However, if brown and grey are more your colors, have we got a Christmas for you.
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