Sunday downpour pushes July total past 8 inches

Portions of Bogalusa and eastern Washington Parish received an inch or more of rain Sunday afternoon as heavy thunderstorms literally blew through with high winds that stripped some smaller limbs from trees and left water standing in streets.

The one-inch recorded in northeast Bogalusa raised the rainfall total for July to 8.05 inches and was the sixth time during the month that at least one-half inch had been recorded.

While Washington Parish remains in a severe drought, the July rainfall erased 2.38 inches of the deficit, as the historic average for the month is 5.67 inches.

The weather forecast heading into August is for an extreme heat advisory on Monday with a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms Monday afternoon and evening. Highs are forecast to be in the mid-90s with the heat index reaching between 103 and 110 degrees. Because of that, the National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat advisory until 7 p.m. Monday.

Temperatures are forecast to be in the low-to-mid 90s through Thursday with rain chances no greater than 30 percent.

Heavy rain hits Bogalusa, some power outages

Water runs through low-lying portions of
a yard in Confederate Heights Subdivision,
on its way to Coburn Creek, as Saturday
night's thunderstorm eased after about an hour.
 (Photo by John H. Walker)

For the second day in a row, thunderstorms rolled through Washington Parish early Saturday evening, drenching some areas and leaving others with little more than a sprinkle.

"We probably got a half-inch or so here at the house," said Bogalusa resident John Gallaspy about 8:30 p.m. "We got some here at the house last night, but didn't get a drop five miles south of town, where we grow our watermelons."

The rain was generated by thunderstorms that developed with afternoon heating and began opening up about 7:30 p.m. Gusty winds from the west wind-whipped the rain, which covered yards and streets in parts of Bogalusa.

In the Confederate Heights Subdivision, yards were flooded and ditches were running bank-to-bank and better as estimates of one-inch of rain and more were given.

Elsewhere, traditional lowspots, such as Superior Avenue, had water covering the street in spots as did other streets in town.

Power was out along Highway 21 south of Bogalusa after a tree fell on a line. At about 10 p.m., crews were still working to restore service.

But to the west, in areas around Pine, Thomas and Franklinton, there were only occasional showers — despite the rumbling of thunder and flashes of lightning.

According to weatherbug.com, the official weather service of wpnewsblog, a chance for thunderstorms existed until about midnight.

Radar showed the first storm cells, moving from the northeast, hit Bogalusa about 7:15 p.m. and cleared the city about an hour later. Smaller pockets of light rain remained northeast of Bogalusa in Mississippi at 9 p.m. with heavy rainfall moving southeast from Lumberton, Miss. toward Washington Parish.

To view weatherbug.com's time-lapse camera, mounted at Bogalusa High School, visit http://weather.weatherbug.com/LA/Bogalusa-weather/weather-cams/local-cams.html?zcode=z6286&camera_id=BGLSB&camera_animate=1.

On Sunday, a heat advisory is in place with highs forecasted to reach 96 degrees. Isolated thunderstorms, some severe, have the potential to develop late in the afternoon.

(Published first at http://www.wpnewsblog.blogspot.com)