The meteorological party ended Monday. Temperatures, which only a day earlier surged to 80°, plummeted 30° by late Monday when readings hovered in the upper 40s and low 50s across the area—levels much closer to seasonal norms.
Sunshine returns Tuesday but the area is to remain locked in a cooler weather regime for the foreseeable future with clouds and rain next due late Thursday.
The heavens opened in New Orleans Monday producing extensive flooding. The thundery downpours reached 9” late Monday at Lacombe, La. (9.07”) and Picayune, Miss. (9.06”). One rain gauge in New Orleans proper indicated 7.37”.
The storm behind that Gulf Coast cloudburst is to bring desperately needed rain to the sections of the drought-ravaged interior Southeast. More than 4” is predicted from northern Mississippi and Alabama north to Tennessee over the next 5 days.
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
