Severe Storms Possible For Valentine’s Day

The romantic glow of candles on Tuesday might not be just to set the mood. There could be strong enough storms in the area on Valentine's Day to create a few power outages along the I-10 corridor. Let's hope that won't happen so utility crews can spend a romantic night at home out of the storm as well.

The Storm Prediction Center has placed much of Louisiana in a slight risk category for severe storms on Tuesday. The area is generally south of Alexandria all the way into the coastal waters.

The catalyst for this potential severe weather threat is abundant Gulf moisture interacting with an approaching storm system from the west. This instability in the atmosphere will be aided by strong winds aloft. This could create the diffluence necessary to create strong updrafts or even rotation in developing thunderstorms.

The greatest threat from this system at this time will be heavy rains, frequent lightning, strong gusty winds and a threat of tornadoes. The most likely time for the Lafayette area to experience strong or severe weather appears to be in the afternoon or evening hours of Tuesday. This could certainly place a damper on Valentine's Day plans so do check the weather before you and your beloved head out to your favorite restaurant.

The system should exit the state during the morning hours of Wednesday. You can expect cloudy skies, much colder and very windy conditions during the day Wednesday.  By Thursday the skies should clear and temperatures will begin to moderate by the weekend.