The freeze threat has ended, giving way to warmer days and periodic rain chances. There are no signs of another Arctic blast at least through Christmas and possibly the end of the year.

Tonight & Tomorrow: Bitter cold is now in the past, with no freezes anticipated moving forward. Overnight lows will settle in the middle and upper 40s across south Louisiana under a cloudy sky. Clouds will persist through much of Wednesday with the arrival of an upper-level disturbance. This feature may trigger a handful of showers, but dry air aloft will prevent some raindrops from reaching the surface, keeping the activity light. Aside from running windshield wipers a time or two, rain will be fairly insignificant. In spite of clouds and the occasional sprinkle, the warming trend will continue with highs topping the mid-60s.

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Up Next: Additional warming will take place into Thursday morning as lows jump into the 50s. While the day might start off with lingering low clouds, sunshine will eventually emerge. The combination of sun and a warm southerly breeze will drive highs into the mid-70s. A cold front will arrive by evening, and ahead of it, isolated showers and the occasional rumble of thunder will be possible. A north wind will take over behind the front, resulting in a modest cooldown into Friday. Afternoon highs will settle into the low 60s, with morning lows dipping into the mid-40s. Temperatures will quickly rebound over the weekend, however, with highs in the 70s by day and near-60° by night.

Christmas Week & Day: An expansive ridge of high pressure will take over next week, keeping much of the Southern U.S. on the warmer and drier side of average. Baton Rouge will likely see highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s all week long, even on Christmas Day. Rain will be scarce.

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— Meteorologist Malcolm Byron

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