First freezing temperatures in forecast for Tri-City area

The Advocate
Yes, it will be cold enough for snow in parts of south Louisiana this week but, no, it’s not expected. Forecasters say the moisture needed to help make snow will be long gone before temperatures really drop.
Temperatures will run 20-25 degrees below normal for a few days this week as a rare mid-November blast of cold air plunges south.
The low for St. Mary is expected to be near 36 degrees Wednesday morning. The high Wednesday will do no better than 48 degrees.
On Thursday, the parish is due for its first freezing weather of the season. The low will be near 31 degrees. The high will climb back into the 50s.
After the rain moves out Tuesday, no precipitation is in the five-day forecast.
Across the region, according to the National Weather Service, rain will stick around Tuesday with chances ranging from 40 percent to 70 percent along the Acadiana-Baton Rouge-New Orleans corridor. And as the rain persists for another day, high temperatures likely won’t reach 50 degrees, making for a raw, dreary day.
From there, rain chances diminish, but cold air really starts to settle in Tuesday night into early Wednesday, with lows forecast to reach the mid-30s in Baton Rouge and Acadiana and the low 40s around New Orleans. With the wind, the weather will feel close to or even perhaps below freezing, the NWS forecasts.
Highs again Wednesday will struggle to reach 50 degrees, and then the region will have its coldest air of the season so far — reaching freezing in Baton Rouge and Acadiana and a few degrees above freezing in New Orleans. Some areas north of Interstate 12 could see readings in the upper 20s early Thursday.
A freeze watch might be necessary for Wednesday night-Thursday morning in the Baton Rouge and Lafayette areas, the NWS advises.
The cold blast certainly isn’t the norm for this time of year. Average high temperatures for south Louisiana should be in the low 70s while average lows typically hover around 50-55 degrees, according to NWS data.
Even while conditions will be raw and cold, the unseasonable cold appears unlikely to break records. Even at the peak of cold — late Wednesday into early Thursday — temperatures in the 30s will stay above record lows in the 20s.
A slow warming trend will arrive into the weekend with highs climbing in the 60s and lows in the 40s.