NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The heat and humidity are back as summer comes to an end. Temperatures could reach record highs both Wednesday and Thursday with mid 90s in the forecast.
Factoring in the humidity, our heat index or “feels like temperatures” will be in the triple digits: between 100 and 107 degrees. With high pressure over the region, expect calm weather to persist with most locations remaining rain-free.
Heading into the weekend, temperatures cool slightly into the lower 90s, but better relief from the heat will come next week. Another weak cold front will make our temperatures drop slightly starting Tuesday and the drier air mass will make it feel much more comfortable.
TROPICAL UPDATE:
In the tropics, the National Hurricane Center is watching several areas of interest. Hurricane Fiona continues to churn over the Atlantic just north of Turks and Caicos as a Category 3 storm. It is expected to lift north towards Bermuda over the weekend before hitting Nova Scotia early next week.
Our main focus for now will be on a tropical wave near the Windward Islands that has a high, 90 percent chance of formation. This system is expected to strengthen into a tropical depression or tropical storm within the next 2 to 3 days as it moves westward through the Caribbean. Most computer models show this storm turning to the north towards the Gulf of Mexico by early next week, but it is too early to tell where it may go from there or how strong it will be. If it were to impact the Gulf Coast, it would not be until late next week, so we have plenty of time to watch how the forecast evolves over the next several days. Now would be a good time to review hurricane preparedness plans, just in case.
We also have two tropical waves near Africa and Tropical Storm Gaston in the northern Atlantic. None of these systems pose a threat to the United States.