Severe Weather Outbreak Expected on this Christmas Day

...A Significant Severe Weather Outbreak is expected on this Christmas Day...

My analysis of the current weather around Baton Rouge shows that it is warm and becoming humid. A warm front has moved north of Baton Rouge this morning and it will continue to push northward into Mississippi. We have some very unstable conditions over us, and it will remain that way throughout the day.

This is the recipe for Round 1 of thunderstorms to pop-up, and they will likely become strong to severe. The threats will be damaging winds and tornadoes, yes, tornadoes are possible today. Some of them could be significant according to SPC. That means they could be as strong as EF-2! SPC has the Baton Rouge area and much of the WBRZ viewing area in a Moderate Risk for severe weather today! There is also a threat for some of the storms to have large hail and continue heavy rain.

Then there will likely be a lull in the weather around midday. It is likely that the sun will come out, but DO NOT let this fool you! The threat for severe weather WILL NOT be over.

Round 2 of the severe weather will occur this afternoon and into the evening hours. We will stay very warm and humid with low-level clouds zooming by from south to north. This will make it pretty windy this afternoon as well. A very strong cold front will move closer to Baton Rouge, and a squall line of thunderstorms will form ahead of it. This line of storms will likely produce damaging winds in excess of 75 mph along with a few tornadoes. It is forecast to move through the City of Baton Rouge around 2-4 PM and eventually out of the viewing area by 6 PM. Some heavy rain will also be possible!

Once the squall line moves through the cold front will follow behind it. It will be quite windy and then the temperatures will drop from the 70s to the 40s quickly behind the front. Brrr!

There is a chance we could miss out on a lot of the severe weather, but it is very low at this time.

Be sure you are prepared for this possible severe weather situation!! I know many of you are not thinking about the weather and only concerned about Christmas. However, I urge you to stay tuned to WBRZ, WBRZ.com, WBRZ's Cable Weather Channel, my Facebook and Twitter feeds too for updates throughout the day. Be sure to secure or bring in any Christmas decorations that could blow away or cause damage today.

Stay safe and informed! Have a Merry Christmas!! -Dave

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