The first real cold front of Fall moves through the state on Friday. Temperatures will be much cooler this weekend, but LSU health climatologist Barry Keim says the threat of wildfires increases, because of dry and breezy conditions.
“And when you’re under these kinds of conditions, especially when it’s as windy as it’s going to be on Friday and into Saturday; man, any spark, you get something going; it’s going to be tough to control. So I’d say the wildfire threat, going into this weekend, is pretty high,” Keim explained.
Nearly all of north and central Louisiana is under an outdoor burn ban. And there’s a Red Flag warning out for central and north Louisiana, which means any fires that develop could spread rapidly.
The National Weather Service says this cold front could bring gusts of more than 30 miles per hour, and humidity levels will fall below 40%.
Keim says if you are going to a high school football game tonight, bring a jacket.
“It’ll feel comfortable, but temperatures are going to drop; and they’re going to continue to fall into the 60s by game’s end, and it’s going to be windy as all get out,” Keim noted.
Keim says much of the state will see morning lows in the 40s, with Sunday, being the coldest morning.
“We’re looking at low temperatures pretty much statewide in the 50s, high temperatures in the low 70s; and then moving into Sunday, we’re looking at low temperatures in the 40s across northern parishes,” Keim said.