A tornado watch is in effect for most of the SWLA

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) – A hurricane watch is now in effect for the majority of southwest Louisiana.

The watch includes the following parishes:

• Calcasieu
• Allen
• Beauregard
• Jefferson Davis
• Vernon

The watch will be in effect until 7pm tonight. Possible weather conditions may include tornadoes, hail, and isolated gusts of up to 70 mph.

A cold front will move through southwest Louisiana this afternoon, bringing a good chance of rain and a slight risk of severe weather.

Southerly winds will raise humidity levels overnight with increased cloud cover. Showers developing west of our area will become scattered through the morning and a spotty line of thunderstorms will likely move across southwest Louisiana Monday afternoon into the evening hours, driven by southerly winds that become stronger in the evening. The need for rain gear will increase the further north you go, along with the potential for severe weather. Rainfall amounts are expected to be between a tenth and a quarter of an inch for most, but local rainfall amounts of up to 1-2 inches are possible with strong storms.

Temperatures should be in the 70s in the afternoon, but with gusty winds, scattered thunderstorms and the possibility of severe weather, it’s not going to be a good day for outdoor activities.

There is a low to moderate risk of storms becoming strong to severe with damaging winds posing the main threat region-wide. Conditions are becoming a little more favorable for an isolated tornado especially north and northeast of our area with individual storms, and this includes the potential for some large hail. Make sure you have a way to receive severe weather alerts including the KPLC First Alert Forecast app, which can be downloaded here: www.kplctv.com/apps

The weather tonight appears to calm down fairly quickly, with skies remaining partly cloudy on Tuesday and Wednesday. Rain chances will also decrease quickly and look unlikely on both days. Temperatures will be much cooler with highs in the 50s to lows in the 60s and lows in the 40s with some cold air moving behind the front.

As for the holidays, the upper low will move over our area on Thanksgiving Day and will likely become a Gulf low. The best chance of rain will be near the coast and offshore, but it will still be enough to bring a weak chance of some scattered showers inland.

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