SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) –  Our streak of warm and dry weather will be coming to an end soon.  A cold front will move through the ArkLaTex on Thursday bringing plenty of rain and much cooler temperatures.  Below-normal temperatures will return and likely stick around through the first half of next week.

Like the warmth?  Enjoy it while you can: For the second day in a row temperatures in Shreveport have warmed to near record levels.  Highs on Wednesday have once again climbed into the low to middle 80s.  A cold front will begin to move into the area late Wednesday night. Ahead of the front, temperatures will stay rather mild with lows once again in the low to middle 60s.  The front will move through the area on Thursday.  This will result in a rather large variation in temperatures.  Highs over the northern part of the area where the front moves through sooner will be in the low to middle 60s.  Further south, it will be cooler, but temperatures will likely have enough time to rise into the mid to upper 70s where the front moves through during the afternoon.   

Get ready for an extended period of rain:  Futurecast shows that we will see clouds increase over the ArkLaTex tonight as the front enters the area.  A few scattered showers will be possible mainly over the northern half of the area closer to the front.  Rain will increase during the day on Thursday with some heavy rain possible at times.  We could hear a little bit of thunder but severe weather is still looking unlikely.  The intensity of the rain will likely decrease some on Thursday night but the rain will remain rather widespread and begin to shift a little to the southeast.  The rain will continue through much of Friday before ending from north to south during the day.  

Heavy rain looks promising for many:  Hi-res models including Futurecast show that much of the area will see some rather significant rainfall totals.  It is possible that parts of the area could see anywhere from two to over three inches of rain. Below is the latest 48-hour rainfall potential outlook from Futurecast.  As of this writing, it shows the swath of heaviest rain in the area between Shreveport and Texarkana that includes much of NE TX & SW AR as well as a small part of NW LA.  It’s looking promising that the rest of the area will receive at least 1” of rain.  Keep in mind this outlook is not set in stone and we could see some changes on where the heaviest of the rain eventually falls.  

Mild air returns:  Cooler temperatures will invade the ArkLaTex behind this front.  We will likely see daytime highs retreat to the 50s starting on Friday and possibly Saturday.  Overnight lows will dip back into the 40s and lower 50s.  This cooler air will stick around through this weekend and the beginning of next week. We will see a warming trend during the last half of next week with highs returning to the 70s and lows eventually warming to near 60s.  More rain will be possible next week with a slight chance on Tuesday and a slightly better chance later in the week on Friday and possible next Saturday.