Our brutal summer run picks up steam with little rain in sight over the next week. Heat indexes will be over 100 degrees baking the Bayou State for about the next week.
State Climatologist Barry Keim says a high-pressure system in the Gulf has stabilized weather in Louisiana, and unfortunately begun pushing humid Gulf air onto land.
“The heat index values are going to soar into the triple digits," Keim said. "Expect values between a 100 and 110, and I know that this pattern is going to persist for at least the next week.”
Not much in the way of rain either to help push temperatures down for a few hours. Keim says expect the dry, but humid conditions to last into early next week.
“Throughout the holiday weekend, expect very very little rainfall. If you get any at all you are lucky, and you are just going to bake out there,” he said.
A lot of folks are taking an extended holiday at the moment and setting up for some weekend boating or grilling. Keim says the heat index is approaching dangerous levels, so act accordingly.
“Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, and I’m not just talking about drinking beer, because beer dehydrates you," Keim said. Secondly, sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen because you are not going to get a lot of cloud protection.”
Keim says it’s official, it is now the hottest period of the year for Louisiana.