As Hurricane Isaias prepares to make landfall, southwest Louisiana is forecast to see minimal impact from the tropical weather.
Hurricane Isaias is predicted to make landfall near the Alabama-Florida shore on Friday evening as a Category 2 hurricane, according to the release.
In a Thursday social media weather briefing, National Weather Service Lake Charles Meteorologist Donald Jones said the “bottom line” is that southwest Louisiana will see little from Hurricane Isaias. However, he specified that the area may see a “stray shower” over the weekend.
“We're looking at maybe a quarter to a half inch of rain just from a stray shower that manages to wrap around (the) western side,” Jones said during the briefing. “But, the vast majority of the region is not going to see much in terms of rainfall from Isaias, which is kind of a shame, really, because we really could use the rain.”
In fact, Jones said that since the region is seeing drier air currently, the concern is the windy conditions that Hurricane Isaias is bringing.
For Southwest Louisiana, it is not out of the realm of possibility to get wind speeds up to 30 mph or higher, according to Jones.
“It's not going to be tropical storm force winds, but it is going to be a bit windy out there, mainly (Friday), but also into Saturday,” Jones said. “What that's going to do, combined with the drought that we've already been in and continue to be in, that's going to create a wildfire risk across the region.”
Due to a higher risk of wildfires, individuals are asked to take precautions.
“If you can avoid outdoor burning, if you can take precautions to prevent any kind of sparks, especially on the sides of roadways that could potentially cause grass fires, please do so because the wildfire potential is going to be higher (Thursday) and (Friday), and probably even into Saturday as well,” the release states.