SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – The sunny, hot, and summer-feeling weather will continue through the weekend into the first week of October. We may finally be in the final stages of this relentless summer as it is now looking possible our first substantial ‘Fall’ cold front may arrive late next week.

It will be more of the same hot and dry weather for the next 5 to 6 days. High pressure building north of the ArkLaTex will keep us dry and unseasonably warm with high temperatures running about 10 degrees above average with highs in the low to mid-90s this afternoon under sunny skies. A slight rise in humidity with a returning south wind will push our heat index into the upper 90s.

The area of high pressure responsible for this recent round of heat will get trapped near us through at least next Wednesday. This means there will be few changes to the hot and dry pattern. We may drop a few degrees by early next week but the run of 90-degree days will continue through next Wednesday.

Things get interesting around next Thursday or Friday. Several of the forecast models are now agreeing that a strong cold front may arrive as soon as Wednesday night or Thursday morning. The front will bring a chance of thunderstorms that could potentially be on the strong side. This could be the front that finally ends the prolonged stretches of heat we’ve had around since June. Cooler air will arrive behind the front with highs falling into the 70s and low 80s by next weekend with overnight lows in the 40s and 50s. A lot can change in a week so this isn’t a guarantee yet, but confidence is building that cooler temperatures are on the horizon.