FXUS64 KLIX 161052 AFDLIX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service New Orleans LA 552 AM CDT Thu Apr 16 2026 ...New AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 451 AM CDT Thu Apr 16 2026 - Sun and temperature related health risks will be the primary concern with sunny skies and warm temperatures on tap through Saturday. Make sure to use sunscreen and drink plenty of water if you intend to be outside enjoying activities like sports and festivals. - Most visibilities should remain greater than 1/4 mile, so a dense fog advisory is not expected. But, patchy dense fog could occur around sunrise this and friday morning especially around river systems. && .SHORT TERM... (Now through Sunday) Issued at 1139 PM CDT Wed Apr 15 2026 Diddo as the last several days through Saturday. A cold front will begin to add some interest to the fcast by sunset Saturday. We should see this front beginning to enter the area around sunset Sat evening. There will be some sh/ts associated as it enters the area. But these will begin to decay as the system moves SE. After sunset and before midnight Sat, a new short wave will kick out of the long wave upper trough along the front edge of the sfc thermal belt, which will help give some extra help to lift, producing a good amount of sh/ts with some heavy rain. But as the front out paces this disturbance, the area of sh/ts will become elevated and eventually begin to weaken as it moves through the area after midnight and before sunrise Sun. Th storms with this feature will at first retain some heavy rainfall before getting squeezed vertically, bringing rain amounts lower as it moves SE during the morning hours. The area of sh/ts will be alleviated by noon Sunday, so a quick decline as we cross the sunrise hour Sunday. But it does look like a good portion of the area will get some much needed rainfall. The next thing noticed will be the cool down with highs only reaching the mid 70s Sunday into Monday but lows will be a bit on the chilly side by Sunday and Monday morning with mid 50s and around 50F respectively. && .LONG TERM... (Sunday night through Thursday) Issued at 1139 PM CDT Wed Apr 15 2026 A fast moving northern stream trough axis and attendant cold front will slip through the region Saturday night. Moisture pooling in advance of the front will allow precipitable water values to briefly surge to between 1.5 and 1.75 inches for a few hours in the late evening and early overnight hours. This moisture will be lifted by the approaching front to create a narrow band of light to moderate rainfall and a few elevated thunderstorms as the front moves through. Fortunately, surface based instability will be very limited ahead of the front and shear will be largely non-existent. As a result, no severe weather is anticipated with this frontal passage. Instead, some much needed rainfall will move through the region. A large temperature spread exists between the various models as the timing of the front varies by a few hours, but the overall trend is weighting toward readings falling into the 50s and lower 60s by daybreak on Sunday. Any lingering rainfall for areas south of I-10 should also be quickly clearing during the morning hours on Sunday. The strength of the high pressure system and cold pool building into the region will support some breezier conditions after the front moves through late Saturday night into Sunday, but winds will remain below any wind advisory levels. Temperatures on Sunday will be slightly cooler than average, but very pleasant, as highs climb into the low to mid 70s. Sunday night through Tuesday will see a combination of strong negative vorticity and dry air advection into the region as a shortwave ridge axis builds in from the west and deep layer northerly flow persists. The end result will be largely clear skies, low humidity, and a large diurnal temperature range. The one area of potential concern will be the amount of dry air that mixes down to the surface Monday afternoon and how strong winds may be at that time. Minimum RH values are projected to fall to between 25 and 30 percent over portions of southern Mississippi and the Northshore of southeast Louisiana, and these values may be on the higher end. Winds are also projected to be close to 15 mph, so some red flag conditions may be met for a few hours. This will be monitored over the next couple of days to see if the lower humidity trends change. Temperatures will range a good 25 to 30 degrees each day with overnight lows dipping into the upper 40s and lower 50s Sunday night before climbing into the mid to upper 70s Monday afternoon. Monday night into Tuesday will see similar conditions. Tuesday night into Wednesday, the pattern will shift as a strong surface to mid-level ridge develops over the southeast CONUS. This will place the region in an extended period of southeast flow from the Gulf. A plume of higher theta e air and higher PWATS will feed into east Texas and western Louisiana during this period of time, and the main focus for heavier rainfall will be confined to those areas. However, just enough instability and moisture in the low to mid-levels as noted by surface based CAPE of 500 to 1000 J/KG and PWATS rising to around 1.25 inches will be sufficient to allow some low topped convection to form during peak heating hours Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. A strong mid-level capping inversion at 700mb will prohibit deeper convection from developing as the influence from a southern Plains ridge axis feeds some drier air aloft into the Lower Mississippi valley. Temperatures will also continue to warm on the back of the onshore flow from the Gulf with readings rising into the upper 70s and lower 80s. Overall, a return to a more humid and warmer stretch of weather is expected as we move into the latter half of next week. (PG) && .AVIATION... (12Z TAFS) Issued at 451 AM CDT Thu Apr 16 2026 MVFR to IFR cigs and a few vis will remain until a few hours after sunrise today. Otherwise, the remainder of the day will be VFR. Tonight will have cigs start out in VFR and slowly lower to MVFR within a few hours before sunrise, then lower to IFR rapidly around sunrise Fri morning. Vis will be much like the last few days with a few sites having IFR to MVFR conditions temporarily around sunrise this and Fri morning. && .MARINE... Issued at 1139 PM CDT Wed Apr 15 2026 Strong surface high pressure from the northeast gulf into the Atlantic will continue to produce a light to moderate easterly to southeasterly fetch at 10 to 15 kt over the northern Gulf through Saturday. A cold front is expected to move through the northern gulf bringing northerly winds Sunday into early next week where more hazardous marine conditions may develop leading to cautionary headlines or even Small Craft Advisories. && .LIX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... LA...None. GM...None. MS...None. GM...None. && $$ SHORT TERM...TE LONG TERM....TE AVIATION...PG MARINE...TE