It will be a chilly start but a mild finish for Acadiana's Mardi Gras under mostly sunny skies.
In the near term, dress warmly for the Queen's Parade Monday night as temperatures drop through the 50s into the upper 40s by parade end.
Eventually our temperatures drop into the mid-upper 30s by daybreak, but it will be closer to the lower 30s, near the frost zone, for the northern parishes...so keep that in mind for the early morning Courirs de Mardi Gras festivities!
Frosty mornings look to be a thing of the past in the next day or two...right in line with climatological average for the last freeze in Acadiana occurring within the last week of February through the first week of March.
It by all means does not imply that we may not see additional frosts later into March, but by this time of year, they become much more unlikely.
Temperatures will warm nicely in a dry atmosphere for Mardi Gras afternoon with readings topping out in the upper 60s to lower 70s.
And don't forget that hats and sunblock; as we head into March, the sun is twice as strong as it was a month ago...and anyone can burn in an hour of sunshine this time of year...no matter what your skin type.
Moving forward into the rest of the week, a strong ridge of high pressure over Western Mexico will build eastward toward the Gulf of Mexico allowing for mostly sunny skies and milder temperatures.
Highs will top out in the mid-70s Wednesday and upper 70s to near 80° by the end of the week.
The weekend/early next week looks quite warm with highs pushing into the low to possibly mid 80s...eventually showers and storms can be expected by Tuesday/Wednesday of next week marking what could be a little more active weather pattern as we head deeper into severe weather season.
For now there are no overt severe weather threats in the next week to 10 days, but that almost always changes later in the month.
And finally, with real spring-like temperatures on the way into this weekend, we all know that the "pollen" season is about to begin too!
See the KATC 10 Day Forecast for the latest.
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