SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) –  The much-advertised cold front swept through the ArkLaTex Sunday.  The rain that developed behind the front will soon end and we will begin another extended period of dry weather.  Freezing temperatures still look likely for most of the area on Tuesday & Wednesday nights.

Rain to end and clouds to depart: Monday has been a rather miserable day with a persistent cold rain falling over most of the area for much of the day.  Futurecast shows that what is left of the rain will continue to decrease and end sometime Monday evening.  Clouds are beginning to decrease over the northern part of the area and will continue to do so from north to south Monday night.  Any leftover clouds over the southern part of the area will move out early Tuesday as sunshine will return just in time for Halloween.  Once the sun returns, it’s here to stay for a while.

A taste of January in early November:  Expect well below normal temperatures for this time of year for the next several days.  Lows Monday night will likely be coldest over the northern part of the area where the clouds will depart sooner.  We will likely dip below freezing tonight over much of NE TX, SW AR, and SE OK with temperatures dipping into the 20s and low 30s.  Further south in E TX and NW LA clouds should keep temperatures above freezing as we will dip into the mid to upper 30s.  It might be a good idea to take precautions to protect outdoor plants now and disconnect any hoses from outdoor faucets.  Temperatures on both Tuesday and Wednesday will stay rather chilly despite lots of sunshine.  Highs will likely be in low to middle 50s over most of the ArkLaTex.

Halloween Outlook:  The good news for Halloween is that it will be sunny and dry.  The bad news is that it will be rather cold.  Temperatures will quickly fall into the 40s during Trick-or-Treat time.  We will also have a breeze out of the north as high as 10 mph that will make it feel even colder.  

Warm air to return: The rest of the upcoming ten-day period is looking dry and eventually much warmer. A warming trend will begin Thursday when highs return to the lower 60s.  We should see highs return to the 70s as soon as Friday and possibly the low 80s by the beginning of next week.  Overnight lows will warm into the 40s by this weekend and should settle into the 50s on Sunday and pretty much all of next week.  We will likely continue to see plenty of sunshine through all of next week.